Undertale: After Freedom
by LittleMarbles
Summary: {WARNING: This fic is INCREDIBLY old and has some terrible writing errors in it. The newer chapters are better.} A year passed since Frisk freed the monsters from the underground. They now live with Toriel, and every day is a new adventure as they do their best to help their new friends adapt to living on the surface.
1. Sick Day

Frisk's small shoes crunched against the thin layer of snow that had accumulated outside. School had just gotten out, and just like every day after school, Frisk had to hurry home to Sans and Papyrus since Toriel didn't come home until past four. Being the school's best teacher, Toriel had more than a few things to do before leaving.

Upon entering their home that was nearly identical to Papyrus' house but with two more bedrooms, Frisk smiled as everything was just the way they preferred it; Sans was asleep on the couch, Papyrus was in the kitchen with Undyne, and Alphys was watching an Anime marathon of some sort that involved swimming. Only Papyrus and Sans lived with Frisk and Toriel- Undyne and Alphys lived together next door but visited almost every day.

"Ah, Frisk returns at last!" Papyrus rushed out of the kitchen and held a large blue plate of... something that resembled a waffle but not nearly cooked enough to be a waffle in front of Frisk. It smelled like a waffle mixed with salt and soap and the grey-ish mush appeared to be... smiling..? "I've been branching out from my incredible spaghetti-making skills to bring you something new- a waffle... made entirely out of spaghetti noodles in the shape of my face! Is it not incredible?! It has all the major food groups; spaghetti, breakfast, and, um, handsomeness!"

Frisk smiled, trying not to show any form of disgust on their face. It wasn't the 'food' that was making them feel sick. In fact, Papyrus had made much, _much_ worse in the past year, but Frisk felt dizzy, hot, and nauseous all at once. The room spun and swayed in a manner that resembled a ship in a violent storm. Not even Papyrus' cooking could manage those symptoms. Soon, Frisk went from smiling to falling in a matter of seconds.

Somehow, Sans was able to shoot up from his spot on the couch to catch them faster than Papyrus could fling his concoction to the side to catch them himself.

Frisk wasn't conscious long enough to really react to the situation themself, so instead of Frisk falling with an expression of pain or fear, they held a straight face. The faces that surrounded the child soon faded into a soft blur, as did everything else in the room. The last thing Frisk heard before falling out was Undyne telling them to stay strong.

A little over an hour had passed since Frisk became ill. They were tucked into small, tidy, blue bed as Toriel, Papyrus, and Sans quietly watched over them while Undyne and Alphys went out to get some medicine, or as Undyne called it, "Illness-killing Weakling Syrup."

As Frisk came to, there was a collective sigh of relief. Toriel felt their forehead earlier and identified it as a fever; not a serious one, but it was the first time that Frisk was out in the cold on the surface since they had fallen into the Ruins and made it to the rest of the underground. It was only normal for their immune system to be a bit off, what with all the temperature changes.

Being the natural mother that she was, Toriel couldn't keep herself from lovingly patting Frisk on the head in an attempt to comfort not only Frisk, but also herself. "I am so, so sorry that this happened to you, my child," Toriel said in a sad yet somewhat hopeful voice. "It will be all right. Alphys and Undyne will be back with your medicine, and Sans and Papyrus are here to take care of you. I have some homework to grade right now, so I'll be back later. Sleep well." She gave Frisk and kiss on the head and left the room.

Papyrus, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaned over to Frisk and whispered, "Psst, Frisk. I want to experience as much of the surface as possible, remember? This includes the experiences that make others 'sick'. I have never been sick before, other than when Undyne talks about her weird vomit puzzles. Do me a favor and describe what you're feeling right now."

"I don't think you'll ever be able to really understand how Frisk feels right now," Sans said.

Papyrus turned to Sans with a stern expression. "What?! Why not?"

"Because you aren't human."

"So?"

"I'm just saying that no _body_ like you could understand. Heh."

Sans and Papyrus argued a bit before Sans got bored and fell asleep. "You lazybones. We're supposed to look after Frisk!" He sighed and looked at the small child, who had started to wake up just a little. "Well, I guess this is just another job for the great Papyrus! Nyeh heh heh!"

It wasn't long before Undyne exploded into the room with a literal mountain of different brands and varieties of medicine in her arms that piled up way over her head. Alphys quietly reminded her that Frisk wasn't feeling well, so she toned down a little... just a little.

"So, what kind of sissy liquid does Frisk need?" Undyne asked Papyrus, who told her that they needed something for a fever. Undyne dropped the medicine into a heap in the middle of the room and Alphys looked through them.

"W-we bought extra, um... everything j-just to be sure," Alphys stated while rummaging through the pile, tossing a few boxes aside. "Here we go, children's fever medicine. It's supposed to t-taste like cherries." Alphys gently nudged Frisk awake and held the cap full of red liquid in front of them once they sat up.

Frisk rubbed their eyes sleepily and looked up at Alphys.

"Say 'Ah!' Frisk. This'll help you get better."

Hesitantly, Frisk took a sip of the liquid and immediately regretted it. It was incredibly bitter and had a hint of artificial sweetness to it, which made their face scrunch up.

Alphys looked disappointed. "C'mon, Frisk. You g-gotta drink it all-"

Out of the blue, Undyne interrupted Alphys and dramatically pushed her to the side, snatching the cap in the process. "Ngahhh! Frisk! You got through Toriel, me, and Asgore himself! Are you REALLY going to let some syrup's taste get in the way of your good health?! C'mon! Where's your determination? Just get it over with, you weenie! Do it or else I'll throw Papyrus through the window!"

"No! Please, Frisk! Do it for your cool friend!" Papyrus responded while quickly moving out of arms-reach of Undyne.

After hearing Undyne's encouraging words, Frisk was filled with determination. They took the cap and downed the liquid quickly, trying to swallow it faster than they could taste it. With a smile, they handed it back to Undyne and tried getting out of bed.

Papyrus held Frisk's hand to give them stability and couldn't stop grinning. He always felt most happy when he was helping humans out, especially if said human was named Frisk and thought of him as their cool friend.

Alphys physically looked relieved after seeing Frisk stand, while Undyne looked the same as she did before but felt a weight lift from her back as Frisk and Papyrus left the room together to go see Toriel. She was sitting at her desk in the living room in a large chair, grading papers and setting said papers next to Sans' pet rock.

"Toriel, look! Frisk isn't partially dead anymore!"

Toriel turned around and a huge smile spread across her face. She stood up and walked over to Frisk, taking their hand away from Papyrus and picking them up to cradle them in her arms. She motioned Papyrus to leave them alone and sat on the couch. "Frisk... my child... I was so worried when I heard that you were sick. I could not let my fear show in front of you, so I am sorry that I had to leave you alone. I knew that the others could take care of you and I wanted to be there too, but... I could not see another ill child. I did not want to remember you that way. I was so afraid that you were not going to make it and I could not go through that sort of heartache again. Not another child. Not _my_ child." Toriel waited for some sort of response from Frisk, but she soon realised that they had fallen asleep. Toriel wondered how much they had heard. She felt their forehead, and to her relief, the fever had subsided. Toriel then carried Frisk back to bed and told the others that they would be better very soon.

Later that evening, in celebration of Frisk's good health, Toriel baked a cinnamon pie for everyone. Sans barely touched his, despite being so anxious for his slice. Papyrus asked for the recipe, hoping to one day be able to bake such a large and delicious pie. Undyne ate hers in a fairly barbaric manner, rarely even using her fork. Alphys was the only one who ate her slice like a normal individual. For dinner, Frisk had some leftover casserole from the other day. They weren't really in the mood for pie as a snack, so Toriel let them skip right into dinner. What with being sick and all, it was understandable that they weren't very hungry, either.

Once everybody was done eating, Alphys and Undyne went home to watch a new Anime together. Alphys described it as a dog demon that was one a quest to become a full demon while also searching for his father's sword. Sans fell asleep on the couch again- this was a habit that he was trying to break out of, but ever since he had a couch that didn't hurt you when you sat on it, it was almost unpreventable. Papyrus was on the computer that was in his room. He had become quite the popular gamer online with a couple thousand followers that were into his Let's Play series'.

Other than Frisk being sick, it was just your average day that ended the same as any other; Toriel told Frisk a bedtime story to help them sleep and Sans would do the same for his brother.

Frisk couldn't ask for a better family.


	2. Introvert Recovery

Papyrus held Frisk's hand as they walked down a snow-powdered street during a sunny Saturday afternoon. Most of the snow was melted, aside from what tiny layer was left in the shade. Frisk wanted to pay a visit to Napstablook and Mettaton before they went on a week-long tour. Less than a month after they arrived on the surface, their performance had become a huge success and an instant classic. Mettaton absolutely loved the attention that the surface world gave him, so a tour was necessary for his fans. Napstablook, on the other hand, didn't really care all that much. Despite their popularity, Napstablook was still too introverted for his own good. He often just stayed in his room mixing their latest music together and rarely even talked to Mettaton despite living in the same house as him. Since Frisk had helped Alphys with her own problems, Papyrus thought that they'd be the perfect human to get Napstablook out of their non-existent shell.

The pair had been walking for quite some time, so Papyrus took it upon himself to scoop Frisk up in his arms and carried them the rest of the way there. Frisk didn't really mind being held like a baby, but Papyrus' arms weren't all that comfortable to be held in for obvious reasons. "I can't believe you know Mettaton personally, Frisk! Do you think that while you talk to your dead friend, I can become Mettaton's cool friend? Do you think he can give me some tips on how to have a sexy bishie face like his?"

Frisk smiled and nodded, earning them a 'Wowie!' from Papyrus.

At last, Frisk and Papyrus had arrived to Napstablook and Mettaton's home. It was your average two-floor building, but only the bottom half seemed like it belonged there; it was white with light pink bordering the two windows and door frame. The top half, where Napstablook spent most of their afterlife, was bland looking and somewhat decrepit. It wasn't painted over or even properly shingled; it was just bare wood and insulation that stuck out of some spots. Unlike most days, there were no fans crowding the home. This was most likely because Mettaton had shooed them away, claiming that he needed beauty sleep despite the fact that he didn't need sleep at all.

While still in Papyrus' arms, Frisk knocked on the door. They could hear a muffled voice behind the walls saying, "Blooky~! Your playmate's here! I'll get the door," before the door swung open, revealing Mettaton in his EX forme. Before Papyrus could extend his hand in friendship, Mettaton shook Frisk's hand first. "Darling! Bloo- I mean, Napstablook should be upstairs." His vision shifted from the tiny human to the rather tall skeleton in a goofy outfit. "Hey, I know you! You're CoolSkeleton95, the one who streams those games! I loved your Minecraft series, when are you going to start it up again?"

Papyrus' jaw nearly detached after hearing Mettaton's words. He set Frisk down and looked at his idol with a glowing expression. "You're a fan of ME? I mean... of course you are! Not even stars themselves can resist the charm of the great Papyrus!"

Frisk left the two monsters to their conversation and went upstairs. The downstairs floor was very sleek and modern, but with every step Frisk took upwards, things looked more and more like a neglected cabin. The wood floors were slightly cracked, there were spiders on every cobweb in every corner, the wallpaper was yellowed and peeling, and it even _smelled_ dusty. Not to mention that for some reason, it got darker as they went upstairs. It felt just like Napstablook's old home in the underground, but with a bit more space.

Once upstairs, Frisk could clearly see Napstablook in the corner of the room on their brand new computer. He had a music mixing program opened and he almost didn't hear Frisk enter. "Oh... you came..." Napstablook spoke in a soft tone as he closed the program and floated over to the human. "Frisk... I didn't forget your name, even after so long... even after my tears pooled into my hand and evaporated... Did you come to help me pack for the tour? I... don't know if I can go. I'll just... mess everything up... my music isn't even that good. I think... I think Mettaton would do best on his own... don't you?" Napstablook seemed more depressed than usual. Sure, he never thought very highly of himself to begin with, but he always enjoyed making music for others no matter what.

Frisk didn't like it when his friends were feeling bad since they were incredibly empathetic. Feeling like the ghost needed some encouraging, Frisk attempted to give him a hug. It was a bit difficult since he barely had a tangible form, but nonetheless, Frisk wrapped their arms around the entity and refused to let go.

"Oh... a hug... I really wasn't expecting this... you're going to make me cry again..." Frisk wasn't able to stop Napstablook from crying, but it turned out better than they expected. When they pulled away from the hug, Napstablook's tears created the shape of a heart in the middle of his translucent body. "This is a new one... I call it... Loverblook. Do you like this one, too?"

Frisk nodded and clapped softly. For a second, it almost looked as if Napstablook was smiling.

While the human and the ghost were upstairs, exchanging music and talking, Papyrus and Mettaton were posing dramatically while holding a casual conversation. Papyrus may be tough in battle, but it was difficult to keep up with Mettaton. He didn't want Mettaton to think that he couldn't keep up, so Papyrus tried his best to hide the fact that he was already tired.

"So, Frisk just fell over?" Mettaton asked, balancing on one foot.  
Papyrus replied while mimicking the robot's actions, wobbling slightly. "Yep! But, it was no problem for the great Papyrus! I looked after them just like any other friend would do, except I think that Frisk prefers me over any other friend."

Mettaton chuckled and then did the splits, to which Papyrus soon followed. "To me, darling, it sounds like they really treasure you as a friend. Hold on to that friendship for as long as you can, okay? You never know when _you_ might need _them._ "

"Yes sir, mister Mettaton!"

"Oh, and I have a favor to ask of you, dollface." Mettaton stood up and stretched, seemingly tired from their posing.

Papyrus could hardly contain his excitement. "Yes?"

Mettaton looked up at the ceiling dramatically and held his hand up before clenching his fist. "Do you think you could post up a video on your channel, letting all of your fans know of our tour?"

"Wowie! Advertising my favorite idol! It's like a dream come true! Of course I'll let my beloved fans know of your tour! EVERYONE shall know of the magnificent Mettaton's magnificence! Nyeh heh heh!"

After a while, Napstablook wanted to be left alone. He wasn't exactly sure of how to keep a conversation going, so to keep things from getting awkward, he told Frisk that it was best if they went home. Napstablook felt more confident about going on tour and decided that it was a good idea if people heard his music- even if it wasn't the best they had ever heard.

Papyrus was more than exhausted after dancing with Mettaton, and so he was glad that the human had to go home so that Mettaton wouldn't make him pose anymore. The two waved goodbye to the robot before leaving. Although Papyrus was too tired to pose any further, he wasn't nearly tired enough to not carry Frisk all the way home. This was partially because he wanted to prove to himself that he was strong.

As soon as Papyrus had set foot inside of the home, his fatigue finally caught up with him. He carefully set Frisk down and dragged himself upstairs to his room to nap for a few hours. It was a shame that he wasn't awake for a bit longer, because Toriel had ordered a pepperoni pizza for everyone.

Frisk preferred Toriel's cooking any day, but this specific pizza was from Muffet and Spiders' Pizzeria, so it had that sort of 'monster' taste to it that made Toriel's cooking so good. Muffet opened a chain of food services in the past year that weren't limited to just baking. She even published a few cookbooks that Papyrus may or may not get for Christmas.

Thanks to Frisk's silent encouragement, Napstablook went on tour with Mettaton, Shyren, and good ol' Burgerpants. Everybody in the audience loved the originality in Napstablook's songs, and for the first time on camera, Napstablook could be seen grinning.


	3. Letting Go

Frisk tossed and turned in their sleep as a recurring nightmare decided to rear its ugly head. They had this dream almost monthly, and each time it happened, it became a bit more vivid. This time, Frisk could see an entity in the darkness almost clearly, and the voice speaking to him was much less muffled. Unsurprisingly, the being plaguing their dreams was Flowey. "You. You left me to rot down here all alone. I can't even end my own life. I thought you were a good person, Frisk. I thought you didn't kill because you cared. Well guess what? **Leaving me down here by myself for so long is just as bad as death.** It's even worse since I basically have no powers anymore. I can't even move from this spot. **You're just as bad as Chara. You're just as bad as any other murderer.** And your beloved friends will know this soon enough.."

Frisk woke up later than usual that Sunday morning; one week after Mettaton's tour. They were getting sick of the dreams and wished that they would just go away because of the way they made them feel. Heavy guilt began to set in Frisk's chest with each step they took. It felt as if one long, fine piece of thread had been wrapped around their heart, and at the end was a heavy stone that tugged downwards. Despite depression setting in, Frisk tried to keep a smile on their face as they sat down for breakfast with Papyrus and Toriel. Sans was still asleep in his room, but that was normal. What _wasn't_ normal was that for once, Flowey's words actually got to Frisk. It almost physically hurt them to think about it, and it was the only thing on their mind. This resulted in a painful expression that showed on their face. Toriel's motherly instinct detected that something was wrong with Frisk as soon as she saw them enter the room, but she wasn't sure about _what_ was wrong. _Do they have a bully? Are they sick again? Is the food not any good?_ These questions and more flooded Toriel's mind until she began to worry. "Frisk, dear? Is something wrong? You don't look like yourself." Somehow, those words were enough to tighten the string around their heart even further, and Frisk did something that neither Papyrus nor Toriel had ever seen them do before; they began to cry. These few silent tears that had streamed down their face quickly turned into loud sobs. Toriel instantly became Super Mom and held Frisk in her lap, stroking their hair. "Please do not cry, Frisk. Please... Everything is okay, I promise! Why are you so upset?" Their sobbing had quieted down, but the tears and occasional sniffles wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. Toriel looked over to Papyrus, who was utterly confused by the sudden crying, and asked for help. "Ehh.. F-frisk! Do not cry. Just like Toriel says, everything is wonderful! I'm famous online, Mettaton is more famous but I'm just as loved, Toriel is happy, Undyne has a popular gym, Alphys is... happy being a nerd, and Sans is himself! How could you possibly be sad?"

A few minutes of consoling came and gone, and Frisk had finally stopped crying. Both Toriel and Papyrus were terribly worried, and what made it worse was the fact that neither of them knew what to do. "Are you alright?" Toriel asked. Frisk nodded and left the room with a blank expression. They remembered something that Sans said about a flower that would talk to Papyrus. They knew that it was Flowey since Flowey was the one that brought everyone to Asgore's castle before Frisk's final battle between Asriel by calling Papyrus. Frisk didn't know what Sans could do about this problem, but they had to tell someone about it. And because of Sans' somewhat omnipotent presence, he just _had_ to be able to help.

With a few firm knocks, San's door creaked open. Frisk gave Sans a tight hug without warning, which surprised him. "Hey, kiddo. I heard that you were crying. Mind tellin' me what's up?" Frisk sat down on Sans' messy bed, took a deep breath, and explained everything. They told him about falling down, meeting Flowey, learning how to Save, and their battle with Flowey. The only thing they left out was the fact that, in a way, Flowey was Asriel Dreemurr. Telling Sans about Asriel would only lead to problems because of Toriel's presence. Each word that Frisk spoke became more and more difficult to utter, and it got to the point where they were shaking, but they stayed determined and didn't stop talking until Sans understood why they were so upset. Finally, Frisk explained the dreams and the guilt. Fisk had never spoken so much in their entire life, and Sans absorbed every single precious word. "Talking flower, eh? Saving, too? I see why you came to me. I've, uh, been studying the Save function for a while, just in case you missed the memo. Yeah, I believe every word, kid." Sans headed towards the door and turned back to Frisk to say one last thing before leaving; "I know a shortcut to Mt. Ebott. Don't worry, I'll be able to get out since the barrier is down. Be back soon, 'kay?"

For what seemed like an eternity, Frisk just sat on the couch and watched some of Papyrus' favorite cartoons with him. Frisk was silent, which wasn't abnormal, but this silence somehow seemed unnatural. It was almost like a negative aura had been swirling around in the room like a small, black hurricane. Papyrus still felt bad for Frisk, so he put his arm around them and pulled them close for a few enlightening words. "You know, Frisk... you're a really great friend. I have never seen you give up, not even when you were up against the great Papyrus or even Undyne! That means that you're one tough noodle. A noodle that no amount of boiling can soften! So... what I'm trying to say is that even though you're very strong, you are not as strong as me. Therefore, it is my responsibility to look after you and to comfort you when you're feeling not-so-tough. Do you understand?" After hearing Papyrus' words, Frisk felt a bit of the guilt and worry drift away and gave Papyrus a hug as thanks and as a sign of understanding. They knew that they didn't always have to be tough, and that it was okay to rely on friends.

Papyrus fell asleep on the couch and Frisk told Toriel that they were feeling much better. The aura of the room felt much lighter and easier to breathe in. However, the same dreariness came back as soon as Sans entered the home with a potted golden flower. "Is this the weirdo you were talking about, Frisk? Man, could it be any more pathetic?" The oh-so familiar planted turned to face Frisk, and its scowl began to show hints of remorse, sadness and guilt. It then started to speak in a low, threatening voice. "You actually did it. You idiot. I may be powerless, but what good am I to you now that you've brought me here? Why couldn't you just let me die down there?" Papyrus woke up because of Flowey's voice and shot Sans a puzzled expression. "So you found my little flower friend... how?" he asked. It was at that moment that Sans realised that nobody was using an Echo Flower to play a trick on Papyrus- it was Flowey. Flowey was playing a trick on Sans' beloved brother, and Sans wasn't going to stand for it.

There was a moment where Sans was smiling at Flowey. It was the kind of smile that you give someone while telling them how terrible they really are and about all of their sins. However, Sans didn't give Flowey the pleasure of more time to live with by using dialogue that would mean nothing seconds later. Instead, his eyes turned pitch black as he readied a laser cannon that resembled a goat's skull. As he readied the attack, Flowey looked as if he were accepting his fate and Papyrus didn't even interfere since his brother only did these things for a good reason. Frisk, on the other hand, couldn't stand the thought of Sans stooping to Flowey's level, so they did something truly idiotic; they pushed Flowey out of the way just as Sans released his attack, thus having the full power of the attack hitting Frisk instead. The bright white beam hit Frisk in their side and caused them to collapse into a writhing, pain-ridden ball on the floor. All murderous intentions left Sans and were replaced with a heavy guilt mixed with copious amounts of shame. For the second time that day, someone that you'd never expect to cry had done just that.

Frisk started to lose hearing as their surroundings became blurred. Their was a slight ringing sound in their ears and a sharp pain that shot through their side. Despite the pain, the attack they endured sapped any energy they had left, thus paralyzing them. They could still see Toriel rush to their aide along with Papyrus as Sans was on his knees, trembling and trying to hold back his tears. Soon, their vision faded in and out while long periods of time passed between each fade-in. They first saw Sans come to his senses and stand up while Toriel called for help on her phone, the next vision was of Alphys standing over their body while shaking uncontrollably and asking if Frisk could hear her, and finally, they remembered being carried into their room by Undyne with Alphys by her side. All the while, the pain had drifted further and further away from Frisk's body and their consciousness began to fade as well. Before Frisk could stop feeling everything both mentally and physically, they could feel a thick liquid fill their mouth that had an iron-like flavor.


	4. Forgiveness Blossoms

There weren't any real doctors that were skilled enough in magical injuries to help Frisk, so Alphys was the only person that could actually do something. The only person within a twenty mile radius, anyway. Granted, she mostly worked with machinery and electronics, but with a bit of her Determination experiments under her belt, she knew more than most about green healing magic. It wasn't long before Frisk's pulse had returned to normal, but they hadn't moved an inch, so they weren't in the clear just yet. Frisk's eyes were shut tight and their body was almost lifeless other than their chest rising and falling with each breath. "I-I think that Frisk will be alright, t-they just need some rest," Alphys told everyone. For once, Alphys had to be the one to keep everyone's spirits up. She knew that she had to do her best to keep her friends from worrying so much.

Sans locked himself in his room with Flowey and tried to keep himself from shaking. He had never hurt an innocent person before and didn't really know how to deal with it. He was out of alcohol, so there was no way to escape the guilt. It was one thing for a flower to be playing tricks on his brother, but this time, Sans was _directly_ responsible for hurting someone that his brother loved. He wasn't sure about how to deal with such a strong sense of guilt, so he just sat in a corner of his room to let that guilt build up and fester into unrelenting depression. "You did a _great_ job protecting Frisk, you useless monster," Flowey said, trying to push Sans over the limit. "You must think you're soooo special because you know about Saving and the jumps in time. Well guess what? **You are NOTHING. YOU COULDN'T EVEN PROTECT SOME PATHETIC HUMAN CHILD.** I mean, it shouldn't have been _that_ difficult to kill me right there, and you messed up. **You're just a screw-up that can't even protect something as common and pointless as a human.** You should just kill me now while Frisk is incapacitated. Maybe then you won't miss entirely." Sans stood up and walked over to the talkative plant, feeling the depression fade away with each step he took. He knew that Frisk would live, and there was no way that some demented flower was going to get on his nerves. "Y'know, I _could_ kill you right now, but Frisk obviously wants you alive and well. So, I'm going to keep you that way. And, I wanna get you back for everything that you've done, so I've been thinking; What could _possibly_ be a worse form of punishment... than you having to stay in here for the rest of your life while listening to my awesome jokes?"

After what seemed like hours later, Frisk began to move a bit. Their eyes were still closed, but even the slightest of movements that the child had made for a few seconds made everyone in the room feel 100% better. Papyrus as so happy, that he went to go cook something in celebration of Frisk not being dead. For once, he didn't want Undyne to accompany them so that everyone could be surprised. Not even a minute after papyrus left the room, Frisk rolled over in their sleep and snuggled under their thick blanket. It was clear that they were going to be okay.

Every minute spent waiting for Frisk to wake up was agonizing. Toriel was beating herself up for not being a better mother, and Undyne and Alphys regretted not coming over earlier because of the thought of them being able to prevented it. Realistically speaking, there was no way any of them could have predicted that Frisk would purposely jump in the way of Sans' attack to save a flower that wasn't even worth the time. Toriel told everyone that the very best thing that they could do was to wait. "It may not feel like we're accomplishing anything," she said, "but since there is nothing else we can do, waiting is the best option."

Everyone's patience was soon rewarded when Frisk finally opened their eyes, sat up, and looked at everyone with their head tilted. They wondered why everyone looked so relieved since they didn't remember Sans hurting them. In fact, they couldn't even feel where Sans' attack had hit them. Undyne was so glad that Frisk was okay that she gave Alphys a kiss before hugging her tightly as the small yellow monster turned a bright red. Toriel hugged Frisk but tried to be as gentle as possible since she wasn't sure if they were in any sort of pain. Frisk hugged back, and the situation became even better when Papyrus entered the room with a tray of cookies. "The human is well! Wonderful! Now they can try some of my incredible cookies."  
Undyne interrupted. "Wait, Papyrus. You should let me try them first."  
"If that's what you want, Undyne. I shall not disagree with you wanting to taste my cooking before everyone else."  
Undyne took a bite of the cookie and expected it to taste like an eraser dipped in powdered sugar, but for the first time, Papyrus had cooked something that she could eat. It wasn't the best cookie in the world, but she'd eat it again if it was there.

The once sombre room filled with sadness and worry was soon filled with laughter and smiles as Frisk informed everyone that they were okay and was able to move around normally. Frisk then asked about Sans and the room grew quiet. Nobody wanted to explain what had happened in fear that Frisk would be afraid of Sans. When nobody would give them a proper answer, Frisk took it upon themself to go see Sans. They knocked on his door, but there was no response. They knocked again and called Sans' name, and the door opened immediately, revealing a not-so-comic looked down, which was an expression Sans didn't normally wear. Before Frisk could ask what had happened or if Sans was okay, they were pulled into a sudden hug. Sans kept muttering inaudible words, and the only ones Frisk could understand were, "I'm so sorry," and "I'll never use my powers around you again." Frisk began to remember what had happened, and they formulated a plan on what had to be done to make things okay again.

Sans' hug lasted longer than even Toriel's, and when it finally ended, Frisk asked about the flower. Sans tried to stay calm as he pointed to the evil little plant on his desk at the back of the room. It took every ounce of willpower Sans had to not chop the flower up into itty-bitty pieces. Before Flowey could even get a single word out, Frisk did their best to give the plant a hug. It wasn't as difficult as hugging Napstablook, but they were afraid that they'd crush him. "You... You're being nice again. I told you before that I can't understand! I put you and your friends through so much. I killed you countless times. And yet, you're showing affection?" Their hug lasted only until the end of Flowey's sentence, and then Frisk took Sans by the hand and dragged him to everyone who was still gathered in their room. "K-kid! No, I can't face them like this!" Frisk's mind was already made up. They wanted to show everyone that Sans could be trusted again. Before anyone could ask anything about Sans or what Frisk was doing, Frisk told everyone that it was their own fault that they had gotten hurt. Toriel was proud of their honesty.

Words were exchanged between Sans and Toriel; some were angry, a few were sad, and most were happy because of Frisk being alright. After that, the rest of the day went on like most days did, except that everyone decided that they all wanted to spend as much time with Frisk as possible. That day's near-death experience showed everyone that they should be more grateful for what they have, even if it's something as common as a human child.


	5. Happy Halloween

Toriel placed a small pirate hat on top of Frisk's head, completing their Halloween costume. Frisk skipped around the house happily while everyone else prepared for a night of trick-or-treating. This was the first time that everyone had decided to actually celebrated Halloween. Last year, Papyrus was too afraid to go outside because of a few realistic zombie costumes that he claimed were real. He won't admit that he was afraid, but he hid behind Toriel when she opened the door to pass candy out. This year, everyone was dressing up and going out to trick-or-treat with Frisk. Toriel dressed as a rabbit, Papyrus took off his 'battle body' for once and wore a plastic knight's suit of armor, Sans was inspired by Dia de los Muertos and decorated his face to look like a vibrant and colorful sugar skull, Undyne wore a flowing pink princess dress while carrying one of her huge swords, and Alphys was dressed as a Japanese school girl with cat ears from her favorite anime. Once everyone had added the final touches to their outfits, they were off to hoard as much candy as Frisk's decorative bag could hold.

Halloween night was filled with the laughter of humans and monster kids alike. Dozens of them ran up and down the street in either hand-made or store-bought costumes. Toriel smiled happily as Frisk went up to each house with a grin and walked away with at least five pieces of candy per home. Papyrus, on the other hand, had become jealous. "Sans, why can't _I_ get candy with Frisk?!"  
"Because you're an adult. Only kids get candy on Halloween, bro. Don't be such a _bone_ head."  
Alphys and Undyne chuckled at Sans' joke while Papyrus stomped on the ground childishly, telling Sans not to ruin his night of Halloween fun.  
"Lighten up, Papyrus," Undyne said. "I'm not getting any candy either. Do you see me complaining?"  
"Well, no, I-"  
Undyne pointed her sword at Papyrus. "That's right! I'm having fun just scaring the crap outta little kids! Fuhuhu!"

That night, Papyrus and Undyne looked like they were having the most fun that they ever had since arriving to the surface. The two jumped out from behind trees and bushes to scare passersby and got huge laughs out of it. Even Alphys was enjoying herself when a few cosplayers asked to take their pictures with her. She was glad that they recognised her outfit from the original Mew Mew anime and not Mew Mew 2. Toriel and Sans were having fun on their own by just telling each other bad jokes.  
"Hey, Toriel. What's a skeleton's favorite instrument?" Sans asked.  
Toriel shrugged. "What, Sans?"  
"A Trom-bone."

The group of monsters and Frisk walked around their block and across the street. By the time they stopped, Frisk's bag was filled to the brim with a variety of chocolates, gummies, hard candies and chewing gum. Just when Frisk and everyone else thought that today could go without a hitch, some older kid ran past them and snatched the bag of candy from Frisk's hand. It took all of Papyrus' strength and then some to keep Undyne from launching her sword at the brat. Instead of solving this problem with violence, Toriel calmly knelt down in front of Frisk. "Frisk," Toriel started, "You and the others should go home now. I shall be back with your candy in no time."  
Alphys spoke up. "But T-toriel! Undyne could easily just go a-and talk with them! She's very qu-quick, and.."  
"Talk? TALK?! They took Frisk's candy! I'll slaughter 'em, Alphys!" Undyne shouted.  
With those few words, Toriel was certain of her decision. She sent everyone home before going off to find the rascal that stole Frisk's sweets. Since Frisk was the only one who had seen Toriel use her powers to fight, they knew that she'd be back rather quickly. Of course, she'd never hurt the child, but she'd give them something to fear.

Once home, everyone but Undyne was tired from walking. While Undyne was fuming, everyone else sat down on the couch to watch some classic Halloween movies. Alphys eventually coaxed Undyne into sitting with them, ensuring her that Frisk would get their candy back and that the child would receive proper punishment. Undyne sat in the middle of the couch with Papyrus and Frisk to her right, and Alphys and Sans to her left. During a particularly scary part of the movie, both Alphys and Papyrus could hardly look at the screen, so Undyne noogied both of them, mocking at how Frisk could watch it unflinchingly. Papyrus claimed that he wasn't scared, and Sans replied with, "Don't lie, bro. It's obvious that you _just don't have the guts_ _._ "

It wasn't long before Toriel came home with Frisk's candy, along with the now terrified child that took it. "Now, what do we say to Frisk?" Toriel asked him.  
"I-I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry, F-frisk.."  
Toriel seemed satisfied with their words and let them leave. She then gave Frisk back their bag of treats. Undyne was surprised that Toriel was able to strike the same fear into people's hearts that she could. In fact, everyone but Frisk was a bit shocked. They wondered how such a sweet and loving person could scare someone half to death. Once Frisk's candy was back in their possession, they gave a few handfuls to everyone. It wasn't like they could eat it all by themselves, after all. Plus, Frisk would feel bad if they didn't share. Papyrus was more than pleased with Frisk's decision since he got a few of his favorite caramels. Before long, it was Frisk's bedtime. Alphys and Undyne left, thanking them for the candy and all the fun. Toriel carried Frisk upstairs to their room, had them change into pajamas, and tucked them in for the night. Frisk fell asleep rather quickly, and for once, their dreams were a bit different. Although, that's not necessarily a good thing.

Frisk gained consciousness in a dream that was as empty as a void in space. Everywhere they turned their head was pure darkness, with no audible sounds. There was, however, a blurry white figure that ever-so slowly began to take shape. Frisk wondered if this would be the same dream as last time with Flowey, but it couldn't possibly be. After focusing on the patch of color for a while, it was apparent that the figure shown was Toriel. She smiled and waved to Frisk. Frisk waved back, and as soon as they did, a large, thorny tendril thrusted through Toriel stomach. Frisk could only watch in horror as she collapsed upon the wound and screamed in pain. The tendril proceeded to wrap itself around Toriel until she produced no more sound and turned to dust. Not being able to move their body caused Frisk to panic and begin crying. Their heart raced and body trembled as grotesque laughter could be heard just beyond the shadows, and the process repeated with Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys. Their screams echoed in the darkness and the images of their deaths were imbedded into Frisk's mind before Flowey popped out of the ground with his usual smile. "Golly, that's a shame. If you would have killed me, everyone you love wouldn't be dead right now. But, I don't want to die anymore. **I'd rather have you kill yourself instead.** Wouldn't that be better than seeing your friends suffer? As long as you're alive, they will always worry about you. You've put them through so much already, so why not make sure that they never get hurt because of you again?"

Frisk jolted awake and tried to hold back tears. They were relieved when the found out that the dream wasn't real, but something had to be done. Frisk was sick of being plagued by nightmares caused by a flower that they had fought so hard to keep alive. For some reason, their mind was foggy, they were unable to think clearly, and they didn't have full control of their body. In a fit of what can only be described as rage, Frisk grabbed the toy knife that came with their Halloween costume, hid it in their pocket, and went to Sans' room. They knocked, Sans answered, and before he could ask what was up, Frisk barged into the room while wielding the knife. Their eyes were set on Flowey, who seemed rather happy for a plant with a knife aimed at their face.


	6. Facing Fears

Frisk held the plastic knife in their trembling hand, aiming it at Flowey's smiling face. They were squeezing the hilt so tightly that the somewhat sharp edges had cut them and drew a bit of blood that dripped down their wrist. Their heart couldn't stop pounding at the thought of the nightmares and guilt finally going away. They clenched their jaw while thinking of the least painful way to kill the flower. Decapitation? Or simply driving the knife through his head? The only thing stopping Frisk from killing Flowey right away was the thought of actually taking the life of another creature. Killing anything went against everything that they stood for and Frisk wasn't sure if they could muster enough strength to finish the job. Their heart hesitated as the knife was slowly lowered away from the plant, who started laughing dementedly. "Wow. You just worked yourself up for nothing, didn't you? Well, you know what would be more effective and less painful? **Turing that knife on yourself**. Now, doesn't that sound better than killing little ol' me? Killing something doesn't count if it's yourself. Of course, you'd need something sharper to get the job done." Sans pulled Frisk away from the plant and escorted them to the bathroom to fix their wound. He sat Frisk on the sink while looking through the bathroom cabinet for gauze and some sort of rubbing alcohol to keep it from getting infected. Sans always found it interesting how if humans got hurt, they could suffer from more than the wound alone.

Sans carefully cleaned Frisk's wound by running cool water over it until it stopped bleeding. It stung, but Frisk toughed through it; they had been in worse shape, after all. Sans then wrapped a few inches of gauze around the cut and held Frisk's injured hand to be sure that it was on properly. "I never thought I'd ever see you do anything like that, Frisk. Were you actually going to kill him?" Frisk shook their head. The fog in their mind had finally cleared, and looking back at what almost happened, it all seemed insane. "I know what anger does to you. It's hard to not get upset over things, but you can't let it get to you. Being angry makes you do things that you'll regret. Trust me, I know how it goes." Sans carefully traced Frisk's cut with the tips of his fingers and stopped any time they flinched. It wasn't a particularly deep cut, but the sheer amount of blood made Sans worry. Matters were only made worse since this was a self-inflicted wound, not anything an evil monster did to them. "Hey. Why don't you go hang out with Toriel while I take care of the plant?" Frisk grabbed Sans' hand and shot them a pleading expression. "What? Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt it." Still, Frisk refused to let go of Sans' hand. "I see. You don't want to be left alone, do you? That's fine. I'll hold your hand until we get to Toriel downstairs, okay?" With the utmost amount of care, Sans gave Frisk's hand a gentle squeeze and walked them to the living room. Toriel was sitting in her rather large chair, reading an equally intimidatingly large book that had a few complicated words on the cover that Frisk could not read. "Hey, Tori. Couldja hold onto Frisk for a while? I have some stuff to take care of."  
Toriel looked up from her book and her gaze fell upon Frisk's injured hand. "Oh my. What happened?"  
"There was a little accident with Frisk's toy knife. It's taken care of now."  
"I see. Well, I would love to spend some quality time with Frisk right now."

Frisk sat on Toriel's lap while Sans went back to his room to hatch whatever plan that he had in mind. He thought of several methods to try and get answers out of the flower, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Flowey wasn't the only one to blame. Toriel gave Frisk's injury a kiss and began reading them a story about an evil dragon that could stop and change time while a brave knight refused to give up on defeating him. It started off happily but quickly turned into a dark story that made the knight question his existence. Frisk always loved it when Toriel would read them long stories, but something about this particular one felt too familiar and made them uncomfortable. About a quarter of the way through the story, they told Toriel that they really didn't want to hear the rest of it, so Toriel had the idea of having Frisk help her bake a pie. Toriel never asked for Frisk to help her make one before and her reasoning was mostly out of fear of them getting hurt.

Toriel and Frisk walked to the kitchen to begin making an apple pie. After turning the oven on to preheat, Toriel asked Frisk to get the pie crusts from the fridge that she made the other day. All the while, Frisk kept wondering about what Flowey meant by,'Turning the knife on themselves.' It was a concept that Frisk had never pondered before. After all, why would someone hurt themselves? Wouldn't that just hurt the people they loved even more? And, what if what Flowey meant was something more serious than just being hurt by a knife? That thought alone made Frisk shiver, but it also made them delve even further down the already dark path in their mind. They zoned out for quite a while before Toriel's voice brought them back.

Frisk stood on a chair and watched Toriel slice apples into little bitty chunks and put them in a bowl with butter, cinnamon, flour, and a bit of vanilla extract. She moved the knife around rather quickly while cutting the apples, and each movement brought Frisk back to Flowey's words. Toriel's knife was certainly sharper than the plastic one they had before. Frisk tugged on Toriel's sleeve and asked her a few questions about life and if she would be sad if they died. "Frisk, I... I honestly do not know what I would do if something as terrible as that happened to you. I would be very, very sad if you died. Why do you ask?" Frisk shrugged the question off as just being curious but that was not enough to satisfy Toriel's motherly instincts. She knew that something was on Frisk's mind. Their conversation went silent after that bump, and Toriel finished filling the pie and put it in the oven. "See? It is not very difficult to cook, you just have to know what to do. Does that make sense?" Frisk nodded and hopped off the chair they were standing on. Sans had come back downstairs and was on the couch, writing something down on a notepad. He wrote something, tapped the pencil against his skull, tore the paper out, crumpled it up and tossed it to the side. This process was must have been repeated for a quite some time while Frisk was helping Toriel because there was a generous pile of paper wads on the right side of the couch. Papyrus was scolding him for making such a mess, but Sans was too busy writing to be concerned with it. Frisk sat next to Sans and glanced over at what he was jotting down, and most of it was a bunch of complex symbols and numbers with a few doodles of Flowey and some sort of scary skeleton head with one eye that was partially closed.

"Sans! For the last time, I am going to ask you to clean up this mess!" Papyrus shouted.  
"Okay," Sans replied.  
"...Well?"  
"Well what?" Sans tossed another paper into the pile.  
"I said that I'd ask one last time!"  
"Okay."  
"...Are you going to do something now?"  
"Who said anything about me doing something? Just because you asked doesn't mean that I have to do it."  
Papyrus stormed off and went back up to his room while Sans doodled away. Frisk asked what he was drawing, and Sans chuckled softly. "Drawing. Yeah. That's what I'm doing. Don't worry about it, okay?" Frisk wouldn't accept that as a proper answer and demanded to know as much as possible. "Okay, I give in. I'll spill the beans, okay? First: I have a theory that the flower freak doesn't have very much to do with this. He's incredibly weak and barely has enough power to pivot his fat head. Someone else is pulling the strings. Second: I, uh, once knew a guy that was good with manipulation and dreams. Unfortunately, his life was cut short. This guy used to be the Royal Scientist until something terrible happened. Do you follow me so far?" Frisk nodded and Sans continued explaining, tearing out another piece of paper in the process. "People say that this person lives on in bits of the timeline and can only be seen by people who can alter it in very minute ways. There were sightings of colorless monsters in the underground while we were all trapped, and sometimes, even a door that was completely out of place would just appear. By changing values in the timeline, this guy still existed in a very miniscule way. My theory is that he might be somewhat 'attached' to you in a way and wants you to die so that he can take your Soul." Frisk blinked and sat in silence for a moment to absorb all of the information. With all the unimaginable things that Frisk went through in their rather short life, it wasn't impossible for something like that to happen. They then asked Sans what this person's name was. "W.D. Gaster. Do you know him?"


	7. Simplifying Reality

As soon as Sans spoke of Gaster's name, Frisk unintentionally flinched. They had a vague memory of tampering with some sort of values outside of their Save in order to trigger certain events that normally wouldn't happen on their own. Grey entities appeared in Hotlands that spoke of the old Royal Scientist and how his life was cut short. Frisk also caused a colorless door to spawn near Waterfall and on the inside was a being that greatly resembled Sans' drawing of a skeleton with an asymmetrical face. They remembered trying to interact with it, but when they did, it vanished. The door also vanished when they left the bland, grey room. These memories were foggy and distorted but they most certainly were not dreams of any sort.

"You okay, pal?" Sans asked Frisk. They had a slightly panicked look in their eyes and they kept playing with their hands, as if to keep their mind off something. Frisk took a deep breath and quietly explained what they did and what they saw. Sans was somewhat baffled by their explanation since Frisk was so young and probably had no prior experience with altering timelines in that way. Sans was almost jealous of Frisk's abilities because Sans had been trying to do things like that for a few years, but to no avail. "I've got a hypothesis, Frisk. I think that when you changed things, you may have brought fragments of Gaster's Soul back. And because you're the one who did it, he's stuck to you." Frisk agreed with Sans and he playfully patted their head. "Do you think you could do it again, Frisk? Maybe you could delete him entirely from the timeline." Frisk shook their head. They didn't want to tamper with anything and accidentally delete Toriel or maybe even chunks of the world. It was risky to just get Gaster and his followers to appear, but deleting something was dangerous in its own territory.

"You alright, buddy? You look like you're... **having a bad time.** " Sans suddenly appeared to be demonic and the living room turned hellish. His eyes were blank and his skull was cracked in several locations with blood leaking from the cracks. The surrounding area twitched and skipped as if it was a corrupted video game file or a tilted game cartridge; there were missing textures, random patches of static, and blocks of corrupted colors. Without warning, Sans lunged at Frisk and attempted to hit them, but Frisk acted on instinct and pushed them away, sending Sans falling onto their back. Frisk was still in shock from the sudden changes when the room turned while and then slowly faded back to normal. The corruption was gone and Sans was back to his normal self but still on the floor. He stood up and dusted himself off. "Now, what was all that about?"

From what Sans could gather, things would only get worse unless something was done about Gaster. His essence was locked onto Frisk and was only growing stronger with each passing day. Frisk didn't want to admit it, but Sans was right. If Gaster could make Frisk attack Sans now, who knows what his power would be like in a week? A month? A year? It couldn't go on and longer. They had to delete his program files or at least reset whatever they had changed. If they remembered properly, all Frisk had to do was Save and close everything to access the files. Frisk told Sans what they were about to do, and asked them if they thought it was a good idea. Sans nodded, however, he was unsure. He had faith in Frisk and knew that they could do anything if they set their mind to it, but there was a seed of doubt in his mind. Doing something like that was completely unexplored territory for Sans, so in the back of his head, he doubted what Frisk could actually do.

There was a Save point in the living room by the door, so Frisk told Sans to keep an eye on them while they saved and paused time. It was the first time that Sans could see Saving in action, but it wasn't anything special. Frisk walked over to the door, saved, and closed the game. Everything turned black and a file labeled Undertale hovered in front of them. This was familiar, but Frisk was still unsure about their decision. They touched the file, and a couple more files opened. They were all labeled and identified textures to puzzles, NPCs to enemies. From then on, things became complicated. Would Gaster be under Enemies or NPCs? Or somewhere else entirely? The most logical conclusion was that he was under some sort of program used to trigger events.

After some trial and error, Frisk finally found the values that triggered Gaster's followers and the door. They remembered these values being called Fun values, and by changing certain ones or capitalizing specific words, they could get the followers and the door to appear. Gaster himself had no scripted events, so Frisk figured that resetting the Fun values would set everything back to normal. The Fun values were uncapitalized and set back to their normal numbers, thus undoing the events where Frisk encountered the emotionless grey monsters and the door. Once everything was said and done, the file closed. As if it was all a dream, Frisk's eyes opened and they woke up laying on Sans.

Sans was on his back and Frisk was on top of him. The two had somehow wound up laying like that on the floor in the living room and Toriel quickly rushed in from the kitchen to help. "My goodness! Is everything okay?" Toriel asked. For some reason, Sans didn't say anything. He just raised his arm and gave Toriel a thumbs-up. She sighed and went back to baking, and Sans just... remained still. Frisk expected him to sit up and ask if everything went well, but he didn't move an inch. Frisk wondered if they had hurt him again or if they affected something to do wit him, so they asked if he was alright. He nodded, but something was off. Sans hadn't said a single word since Frisk got back. Upon further inspection, it look as if Sans was... blushing? His 'cheeks' were colored a soft shade of blue, similar to what Papyrus' face did whenever Undyne or Mettaton complimented them. Not wanting to make him feel any more uncomfortable, Frisk stood up, grabbed Sans hand, and pulled so that he was on his feet. Sans was acting rather unusual compared to what Frisk expected. He didn't even ask what they did or what it was like to change certain things about the world. Instead of any of that he just told Frisk that they did a good job and went up to his room. What made Frisk really suspicious was the fact that he didn't make eye-contact with them.

Wanting answers, Frisk went over to Toriel while she pulled her freshly baked pie out of the oven and set it on the counter to cool. Frisk tugged on her sleeve and nonchalantly asked why Sans was acting so funny. Their question made Toriel smile and giggle softly. "It was the cutest thing! After you kissed Sans, he just froze up. When you tried to get him back to his senses he just fell over, taking you with him. I was actually a bit worried that you had gotten hurt. You are not, are you?" Frisk shook their head and tried to understand what had happened. Apparently, while they were messing around with the files, they kissed Sans and for some reason, it made him act funny. Fisk decided that it was best to go clear things up with Sans. They walked up the stairs and knocked on his door. He opened the door just enough to see Frisk, but not enough to show any more than his eye. "I know that you didn't do it on purpose. Anyway, didja fix everything?" Frisk nodded and Sans left his room, shutting the door behind him. "Good. I knew you could do it, Frisk. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out to eat."

There was something still a bit off about Sans, but Frisk knew that he'd tell them if they did anything wrong. In the meantime, Papyrus wanted to go shopping and insisted that Frisk should go along with him. "Human! You better put on a coat, because it is rather cold outside for someone with skin. We are going to the food storage units to pick up a variety of noodles, and I need your help deciding which types are the best for my cooking. Will you go with me?" Frisk nodded and put on their heavy jacket and boots. The two waved good-bye to Toriel before leaving the house and entering Papyrus' red convertible. There wasn't any snow outside, but the temperatures were below freezing. Papyrus turned on the heat for Frisk to make them more comfortable. "Next stop: Noodle heaven!"


	8. Stress Relief

Papyrus started up the car and began driving down the road. He was a very safe driver, but he tended to get angry at anyone else that wasn't the best on the road. Luckily, there were very few cars en route to the store, and Papyrus decided to strike up a conversation with Frisk at a red light. "I know what you're thinking- Why do I need store brand noodles if I can make some fantastic ones with my own two hands, right? Well, I shall tell you! Making noodles take time and patience- both of which I have, neither of which I feel like using up. I need the noodles to demonstrate my cooking skills during what many popular Let's Players call a 'Stream'." The light turned green and Papyrus made a left. "During said Stream, a very special and popular guest is going to play Minecraft with me! I... forget his name, but it's Mark-something. This Mark guy just HAD to have me on his channel! He has over ten million followers, and he personally invited me to be his esteemed guest. The great Papyrus would feel terrible if he turned down such a generous offer, so tonight I play with the stars. Isn't that neato?"

Frisk nodded, but something else was on their mind. They couldn't stop think about Sans and how strange he acted. He didn't even try to play anything off as a joke nor did he act like the lazybones that Frisk knew and loved. It was... unsettling to think about.

Twenty minutes of driving and gushing later and Papyrus pulled up to the market. It wasn't particularly crowded but Papyrus still struggled to find a parking space due to other taking up more space than they needed. Once a proper spot was found, the duo exited the vehicle. Papyrus took Frisk's hand as they walked into the building and then the goofy skeleton made a beeline for the pasta aisle. It was somewhat difficult for Frisk to keep up, so Papyrus had to slow down a little despite his excitement. Within the store aisles were your average daily groups of monsters and humans alike. Frisk even recognized that one monster kid that kept falling on his face while he followed Frisk around the underground. Frisk waved at him, but since he didn't have arms, he just hopped back and forth between his two legs while mouthing the word, "Yo."

"Frisk! I am having quite the dilemma here." Papyrus scanned the rather tall wall of pasta of all shapes and sizes. "Which type of noodles should I get? I'm leaning on linguini but they also have noodles that are shaped like seashells. Help me pick!"

Frisk tried to look up at the intimidating wall of noodles, but they were too short to see the top. Papyrus noticed this problem and quickly scooped Frisk up and put them on his shoulders.

"There. Now, pick!"

From the shelf, Frisk pulled off a box of rigatoni simply because they liked the funny shape.

"Excellent choice! With these noodles, everyone watch the stream will know that the great Papyrus has a refined taste in pasta! Nyeh heh heh!"

From the corner of their eye, Frisk swore that they saw Sans somewhere at the back of the store. After a second glance, they realised that it was just their overactive imagination.

In no time at all, Papyrus paid for the noodles and got back in the car with Frisk. Papyrus kept going on and on about the Stream and how cool Mark was, and Frisk daydreamed while looking out the window at the passing scenery. Like most kids, they pretended that a man was running alongside the car while dodging obstacles. They felt so much better knowing that W.D. Gaster wouldn't plague their dreams with Flowey and the death of their family. It was like a huge weight was lifted from their back and was replaced with something much nicer, like a kitten or Undyne's smile.

Another twenty minutes later and they were home at last. Frisk insisted on carrying the box of noodles inside and Papyrus couldn't keep himself from smiling. He always thought it was cute whenever Frisk wanted to help with things. It reminded him of when he and his brother were little and despite Sans being the shorter one, he'd be the one trying to help Papyrus with everything. Sans' helpfulness still held true to that day, even if Papyrus didn't notice everything Sans did for him. Sans preferred it that way anyways.

Upon entering the house, both Frisk and Papyrus were greeted with the sight of Sans being drunk on the couch and Toriel trying to get them to their room. If Papyrus had eyes, he'd be rolling them all the way to the kitchen as he left the scene of his drunken, giggling brother. Sans looked over at Frisk and waved, blushing brightly as Toriel picked him up and carried him upstairs like a child, saying something along the lines of, "You've had enough. Time to go sober up."

Papyrus poked his head into the living room to give his thoughts to Frisk. "It's very odd. My brother normally only drinks when he's stressed... which is never because he's so lazy!"

Toriel walked back downstairs and smiled at Frisk. "Welcome home, my child. How was your trip to the store?"

Frisk told Toriel that everything went well, and that they even saw one of their old friends.

"Another friend? I am not surprised, you appear to be friend with everyone from the underground, Frisk." Toriel went into the kitchen to help Papyrus with his cooking but he insisted that he didn't need any help.

Frisk nudged Toriel's arm and then asked about Sans.

"Sans... has been drinking a little too much. I think that there is something on his mind. You can go see him if you want, although I would not recommend it."

Frisk gave Toriel a big hug and ran upstairs to see Sans. Toriel figured that they had been through enough to make a few of their own choices in life. Sans' door was open for once, so Frisk just let themselves in.

Sans was sitting on his bed, struggling to take his hoodie off when he looked up and saw the small human. "H-heya, Frisk. How's yer hand?"

Frisk said that it was alright and then helped him take the jacket off.

"Thanks, pal. Didja need anything?" Sans still refused to make eye contact with Frisk and still had blush all around his cheeks.

Frisk then asked why Sans was drinking so much. Sans completely avoided Frisk's question and started acting a bit more serious.

"Be honest with me, okay? Do you like me or my brother more?"

Frisk let Sans' question roam freely in their head for a while. Honestly, Frisk loved both of them equally and told Sans just that.

Sans chuckled and leaned on Frisk, putting his arm around them. "I didn't expect you to answer and other way, buddy. But is that really what you think?"

Frisk nodded and Sans wrapped his arms around them. "You... don't remember what happened, do you? When you got rid of Gaster? I know that you don't remember, otherwise you wouldn't have asked ol' goat mom in there. What you did is that you kissed me on the cheek and it _completely_ caught me off guard. Like, I didn't really know what to do or how to react." There was a long pause in Sans's speech before he flopped onto the bed, taking Frisk with them. "To be honest, I don't know why I started drinking. Jealousy? Shock? Stress relief? Petty reasons, really. I never needed an excuse to drink before, you know." Sans yawned and closed his eyes, releasing his grip on Frisk. "I just like to think of it as a lazy excuse for you to pay attention to me, Frisk. Like I said. Petty, selfish reasons."


	9. Clarifying Confessions

[ **Author's Note:** Some of the reviews to this have made me laugh so hard and others have made me smile uncontrollably. I can't even put my joy into words. But, I'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone that's been following and favoriting my little story. I'm glad you like it. Keep the reviews coming!]

For a while, Frisk was just sort of laying there with Sans, still wrapped in his arms. They didn't want to leave him alone because they were afraid that in his condition, Sans would hurt himself. And they certainly didn't want to leave him alone with Flowey in that state. But it wouldn't have made a difference if they left because Flowey was asleep. "Are you listening, Frisk?" Sans asked. He sounded a bit less tipsy and more clear-headed, but his speech was still slurred. Frisk nodded and Sans let out an exaggerated sigh. "Can I clear something up? I, uh, well, I think you're great. You really are an amazing person, but you aren't exactly my taste. Yeah, that kiss really caught me off guard and I'm a sucker for cheesy romance so I overreacted, but I've got someone else in mind." Frisk curiously asked who this mysterious love interest was, and Sans made Frisk swear not to tell anyone about it, not matter what. Frisk promised, and Sans scooched closer to them so that there was no way anybody else could hear his secret. "I think you know her best as 'Goat Mom', buddy. Any woman that shares a love of bad jokes and is sweet is a woman that's absolutely perfect." After his confession, he laughed and told Frisk that he felt so much better after getting that off of his chest cavity. "This day has been an emotional roller coaster. You have no idea how relieved I am. So, I'm gonna... take a nap." And just like that, Sans was asleep in an instant. It seemed like a good time for Frisk to leave him alone, but his arms had tightened around Frisk's body, making it a very tedious process to get out from his grasp without waking him.

About halfway through struggling to get out of Sans' grasp, after inch by tedious inch, Undyne kicked his door open and rushed into the room with the absolute most excited expression that Frisk had ever seen her show. It looked like she had just pulled an all-nighter and decided to drink and entire pot of coffee mixed with cheap energy drinks. She spoke so fast that it took a couple extra seconds for Frisk to understand what she was saying. "Sans, you'll never guess what! Grillby's is FINALLY opening on the surface and they've got a new menu with new greasy food and drinks and-" her line of sight fell on the tiny human that was being cuddled by a sleeping, blushing skeleton, and her mind went in the direction that any shipper's mind would go. "Oh. My god. Are... are you two... sweethearts?" Frisk immediately wanted to tell the truth, but they knew that if they said no that they'd have to explain the situation that they were in. So, in one quick motion, they nodded and Undyne's face lit up with joy. "You two weirdos... are absolutely PERFECT for each other! Alphys was just talking about how cute it would be if you got together, and now look at ya. Well, wake Sans up for me. I'm going to Grillby's to get a couple burgers and some fries. See ya, lovebirds." After Undyne left, Frisk shook Sans awake. He groggily sat up and looked at Frisk with a lazy expression. "Yeah, what is it?" Frisk sheepishly explained the situation. Sans' expression went from lazy to slightly disgruntled, but he didn't seem too upset with what Frisk did. "I'm not mad at ya, kid. Honestly, having this as a cover is better than her or anyone else know the truth." Frisk tilted their head and asked why he couldn't just tell Toriel how he felt, and Sans told them that he wasn't quite sure. "Maybe I'm afraid of rejection. I dunno, I just can't bring myself to tell anyone."

Sans stood up and stretched, saying that he was almost completely sober. Frisk followed him out of his room and helped him walk down the stairs. Sans said he could walk just fine, but Frisk didn't like the idea of him falling down and cracking his skull. His steps were still slightly wobbly, so the most obvious solution was to hold his hand for stability. Toriel greeted the two as they walked down and said that it was cute that they were holding hands. Frisk considered the though of telling Toriel how Sans felt. After all, what would be so bad about Toriel knowing? They would have told her if they didn't make the promise to never tell anyone about how Sans felt. Instead, Frisk smiled and skipped over to the couch to watch their favorite show about shapeshifting gemstones from space.

After they sat on the couch, Sans took his notepad out again and asked Frisk exactly what they did to get rid of Gaster and the visions and dreams. Frisk explained Fun values and how they could change certain things in the world. They then told him that they reset the values so that it was like they were never changed to begin with. Although Sans didn't quite understand what Frisk did, he still wrote down as much as possible for future reference. Maybe his notes would enable him to change Fun values himself in the future. Undyne soon entered the scene while holding two brown paper bags with a big, red G on each of them. She looked over to Sans and waved the bags in front of her. "Guess what I've got! Good ol' vitamin G, otherwise known as grease."

Undyne and Sans chowed down on their burgers while watching cartoons with Frisk. To them, the grease was almost nostalgic as they hadn't had any of Grillby's burgers for over a year. They talked and laughed about old memories of Grillby's and joked about Papyrus not liking the food. Apparently, Papyrus didn't like being talked about because he strutted into the living room and gave a small lecture about how gross and unhealthy grease is and how it contributed to laziness. Undyne told him that it didn't make you lazy if you had the will to feign it. Papyrus then returned to his room to continue his livestream, feeling defeated.

Everything was all fine and dandy until Undyne decided to turn into Cupid and ask about their relationship. Sans completely and blatantly avoided her question as if it were a cold. Undyne was not happy about that. "What, are you embarrassed or something?" she asked. Again, the question was avoided. Frisk wanted to say something, but they could tell that Sans was in a bad mood and didn't want to make it worse. "C'mon, tell me! I wanna know you you dorks started seeing each other." At that point, Sans was at his limit. His head was hurting, he was still a tad tipsy, and he had enough of being teased. "Okay. I'm spilling the beans. I'm not dating Frisk. But you know who I _would_ like to date? Toriel. The only reason Frisk lied to you was because they were protecting me, so you can't badmouth them for lying. Now could you, uh, drop it? Cuz the don't **goat** any more words for you."

Toriel could _not_ have decided to walk into the living room at a better time than when Sans blew up at Undyne. On one hand, it looked like she was laughing at Sans' goat joke. On the other, it looked like she was laughing at Sans' confession. Sans took her laughter as the latter and ran up to his room, locking himself in it. Toriel ran after him and knocked on his door, asking what was wrong. There was no answer. Undyne left soon after that because she didn't want to make things any more awkward than she already had, and Frisk went upstairs to try and help Toriel talk to Sans. Frisk asked Sans to come out, and the door cracked open slightly-just enough to show Sans' eye. Toriel cleared her throat. "Sans, I just wanted you to know that I was not laughing at you. I also want you to know that if you had any feeling for me, you could have told me. You know that I am not a heartless person, and that if I was to turn you down, I was do it in the most polite way as I could." Toriel sighed and looked down at her folded hands. "But I would not have turned you down."


	10. Betwixt Lives

There was a long pause for what Toriel said to finally get through Sans' thick skull. He didn't quite process Toriel's words as quickly as he should have, but when he did, it hit him like a truck full of bricks. As he stepped out of his room, the soft blush on his face grew brighter and brighter. He looked up at Toriel with his usual smile, although it was a bit more nervous looking. "Tori, I, uh... I've kinda had feelings for you almost since when we were telling each other bad jokes through that door. With that outta the way, would you like to... go on a date?" Toriel's face lit up with joy and Frisk smiled proudly at Sans' newfound courage. They knew that it was hard for Sans to admit his feelings, but the look on his and Toriel's face made everything worth while. "Heh. I feel really bad for acting so goofy earlier."  
"There is no need to apologise," Toriel replied. "If we are confessing these types of things now, I would like you to know that I have had a crush on you for quite a while as well." Papyrus popped his head out of his room to give the two lovebirds a piece of his mind. "You two and your lovey-dovey mushiness! Why can't you do this when I'm not playing games in front of half a million humans and monsters?"  
"You got a bone to pick with me, bro?" Sans asked. Papyrus let out a loud sigh and went back to his gaming. "So, Toriel, you wanna go to Grillyby's? My treat." Toriel couldn't have asked for Sans to say anything better. However, before they headed off, Sans nuzzled his forehead against Frisk's. "Thanks, kiddo. This wouldn't have happened without your help. Oh, by the way, skeletons kiss by nuzzling foreheads, so consider that payback for earlier."

Not long after Frisk settled down from their 'kiss', Papyrus shot out of his room like a lightning bolt on a stormy night and picked Frisk up by their sides so that he could properly look them in the eye. "Frisk! I kept talking about you on the stream with my fans and Mark's fans and now both of our fanbases want to meet you! You simply MUST introduce yourself!" Before Frisk could even think to ask was a fanbase was, they were toted into Papyrus' room and were sat quaintly on his lap in front of a desktop computer with a webcam. "This is my friend, Frisk! They helped free the monsters from the underground! Say hello, Frisk." Frisk smiled and waved a friendly hello to Papyrus' fans. A majority of them in chat squealed and said that they were so cute, and the rest were asking Mark a couple questions.

Frisk watched Papyrus play Minecraft for almost an hour. In the short amount of time, Papyrus and Mark had built an entire city that included a Town Hall, a Bakery and a few homes... before blowing it all up with TNT. The two seemed to get more satisfaction out of destroying things rather than creating, and this was completely out of character for Papyrus. Frisk shook it off and told themselves that they only did those things because it was just a game.

It wasn't long before Frisk began to doze off. The stream had reached a peaceful segment and the piano music from the game was incredibly soothing. They thought that they could close their eyes for just a moment just to relax, and as soon as they did, it was lights out. For once, they dreamed a happy dream in which Papyrus was cooking some tasty-smelling spaghetti while Frisk was sitting in a chair at the kitchen table. The skeleton wore a pink apron with a matching pink chef's hat, and the sight was rather cute. He placed the bowl of spaghetti in front of Frisk, and as soon as they looked up to thank him, the dream took a turn for the worse. The atmosphere of the dream stayed the same, but Papyrus was anything but himself. His jaw was missing and his eyes appeared void of all emotion. He stood there, motionless with his arms at his sides. Since it was a dream, common sense was thrown out the window and Frisk asked if Papyrus was okay. They immediately regretted saying anything at all. As soon as those few words left Frisk's mouth, Papyrus' eye sockets began to leak blood as his arms twitched about. The room darkened, as did the tone of the dream. Papyrus reached for one of his ribs and snapped it off, letting it fall to the floor. The sound of breaking bones was unbearable, and Frisk desperately begged him to stop. The more Frisk called out for help or asked him to stop, the more bones were pulled off and broken until Papyrus had a single arm and rib left along with his untouched legs. His movements drastically slowed when he took his free arm and grabbed the back of his head, twisting it violently and thus snapping his neck. What was left of his shambled body disintegrated to dust as a voice echoed on, saying, "Why didn't you save me?"

Frisk woke up from their dream trembling and desperately clutching at nothing. "The human awakens! Ehh... are you all right?" Papyrus noticed Frisk's condition and told his stream that he was busy and shut down his computer before turning Frisk around so that they were facing him. Tears had already begun to form in their eyes, and what happened next was inevitable. Frisk started sobbing loudly and clung onto Papyrus' shirt, burying their face in his chest. Papyrus had no experiences with crying children prior, so he just put himself in Frisk's place and did things that Sans would do to comfort him. He stroked Frisk's hair and patted their back lovingly, letting them know that everything was okay in the process. Frisk hugged him tightly and their sobs began to die down. It sounded as if they wanted to say something to Papyrus but they weren't nearly calm enough to get it out. "It's okay, Frisk. Let's go to your room and try to relax." Papyrus gently held Frisk as he walked to their room and sat on their bed. Frisk might as well have been glued to the skeleton because no amount of coaxing could get them to crawl into bed. So, Papyrus did what any sensible cool friend would do; he wedged a pillow in between him and the human and laid on his back in Frisk's bed. He knew that his bones weren't very comfortable and that Frisk didn't like to sleep while sitting up, so he decided that he'd make them as comfortable as possible while still being cuddled on. "Do not worry, Frisk. The great Papyrus will stay here for as long as you require. After all, I have been quite worried about you lately. I... I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone tonight, either... what with all your bad dreams. Can I sleep in here?" Frisk gave a lazy nod and snuggled up next to Papyrus' head. Both of them felt much better.

It took Frisk a while to calm down. They kept shaking uncontrollably and their breath kept hitching at random. Whenever these things happened, Papyrus would give them a hug and say that he wouldn't let anything happen to them, no matter what. Once Frisk could speak again, they told Papyrus about their dream in as much detail as possible. If Papyrus had a heart, it would have skipped at least six times. He then told Frisk that nothing bad would happen to either of them because he simply would not allow it.

Frisk tried their best to ignore the dark figure in their room that was just beyond Papyrus' line of sight. They hadn't even mentioned it, nor did they want to. It was a dark, pulsating, humanoid figure that they could just barely see out of the corner of their eye. Frisk wanted to get a better look at the being to confirm whether or not it was real, but the more they stared at it, the more they began to shake. The more they shook, the more they were thrown into a downwards spiral of panic. Eventually, they pointed the being out to Papyrus. The skeleton sat up, took one look at the entity, and said less than seven words that brought up more questions than answers. "W.D. Gaster, is that you?"


	11. Becoming Tangible

[ **Author's Note** : OMG why is this so popular? I just started writing for fun and now I have a sub-fanbase going on. Anyway, short chapter warning. Sorry about that.]

Gaster stood at the other side of the room and rocked back and forth on his feet. He was wearing a black trench coat, a black and white striped shirt, black pants and tattered sneakers. His arms and legs were incredibly thin, and the ends of his fingers came to a sharp point. He appeared to be a skeleton, similar to Papyrus but taller and unnaturally thin, even for someone made of nothing but bones. Frisk thought of a few theories on how Papyrus could see or know Gaster. Maybe all skeletons knew each other. Maybe they were both hallucinating. Maybe it was all a cruel prank. Maybe... he was real. "Wowie, I must be more tired than I thought. For a second, I thought that Gaster was here."  
Gaster opened his mouth, but the words that came out didn't sound like words at all. They didn't sound like anything from any other language, either. It just seemed like random sounds. "Reeoy tahn gnease gnith, Ruspiepuh. Mai eeleer eereh."  
Frisk clung tightly to Papyrus and told him that he was the guy giving him the bad dreams. After hearing that, Papyrus set Frisk on the bed and stood in front of them. "So! You are the weirdo that's been messing with my cool friend. Well, I've got news for you: The great Papyrus will not tolerate your behavior!" Papyrus summoned a wall of bones in front of him and stood boldly behind them. "You will NEVER make Frisk cry! Ever again!"  
"Ruspiepuh, hon! Yel im naylpxe!" Papyrus ignored Gaster's odd words and sent his attack flying towards them. It hit Gaster at full force and they fell to their knees.  
Gaster shook his head and put his hands up as a sign of defeat and Papyrus laughed triumphantly. "Another victory for Papyrus, eh? Well, it isn't over yet! I need the help of a nerd to understand what you are saying so that you can tell me why I should spare you."

Papyrus called Alphys and told her that he needed help translating what a weirdo was saying. She came over right away, asked Gaster bunches of questions, punched some numbers into her laptop and told Papyrus that she'd be back soon with a translator. In the meantime, Papyrus took the liberty to tie Gaster up to a chair with unnecessary amounts duct tape. Alphys came back soon after and attached some sort of collar on Gaster's neck. It had a speaker on the front and a small dial that was set to 7. "T-there. Try speaking now."  
Gaster opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out for about two seconds. When his words became audible, Frisk was rather surprised to hear that they spoke rather properly with a slight English accent. "Oh, is this a Sound Reverser? It's rather simple, but I'm glad it's working." Gaster smiled at everyone and continued speaking with a two-second delay "Hello, it is nice to meet you all. My name is W.D. Gaster. First of all, I'd like to say that I am very proud of you, Papyrus. You're a very brave person for protecting a human."  
Papyrus summoned a single bone and held it in front of him valiantly, somewhat like a sword. "Explain yourself, Gaster! Why did you upset my friend? How are you alive? Tell me, or I'll be forced to use my Special Attack!"  
The strange skeleton chuckled. "I see you've mastered blue attacks, Papyrus. Good job. I'm glad you've learned _something_ after all this time."  
There was a brief pause before Papyrus took a step back from Gaster. "You... how do you know about my blue attacks?"

The front door opened and Sans walked in with Toriel. The pair were smiling brightly and giggling until they saw the situation at hand. "Sans! It's been a while, huh? How strong have you gotten? How much have you learned?" Gaster shot Sans a sarcastic looking smile and tapped his skinny fingers against the wooden chair he was taped to. Sans was taken aback to say the least, and Toriel looked as if she had seen a ghost. Sans stood in front of Toriel and his left eye turned a menacing shade of blue. "Why so upset, Sans? You're usually too lazy to give a damn about anything."  
Sans clenched his fist and tried speaking as calmly as possible. "Things that are dead, should STAY DEAD. You're messing with the natural order of things here, pal."  
"Come on, Sans. L-let's give him a chance," Alphys suggested.  
Sans took a deep breath. "This guy gave Frisk nightmares for _months._ Not to mention that they came back from the dead. I think we should send him back where he came from."  
"Perhaps they had a good reason," Toriel hypothesised.  
Sans shook his head and readied a very familiar weapon that resembled a goat's head. "Frisk. Go to your room. I'm going to make sure that this creep NEVER makes you cry again."  
Maniacal laughter came from Gaster as he rocked back and forth in his chair. "Bahaha! You, haha, are using the weapon I made! Remember what it's called? The Gaster Blaster? You're gonna use THAT to kill me?! Ahahaha..!" He calmed down, and Sans looked even more frustrated. "That's not the _only_ thing I made. Of course, you already know this, Sans."  
"Brother? What is he talking about?" Papyrus asked.  
"Just shut UP, you freak! You shouldn't even be here," Sans shouted, his Gaster Blaster becoming much larger. His blue eye radiated a large amount of energy that leaked in a smoke-like manner. Plainly speaking, he looked pissed.

More laughter came from the resurrected monster. "You remember don't you? Yeah, I made two little mistakes before I died. My personalities were shared between them, but not in the way I expected. I had hoped that one would be confident, intelligent, and powerful while the other would be somewhat of an idiot that does nothing but sleep. But that's not how it happened. No, those traits got mixed up in the worst possible way."  
"This is your final warning. Frisk, go to your room. You really don't need to see what's about to happen, pal." Sans' weapon began charging and his eye pulsated between blue, a much lighter shade of blue, and yellow. Everyone in the room stepped back and Toriel attempted to hide Frisk behind her.

For the second time in their life, Frisk decided to save the skin of someone that hurt them in more than one way. They ran out from behind Toriel and stood in front of Gaster with their arms spread out. Sans' weapon disappeared and he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Geez, kid. Are you suicidal or something?" Sans asked. Frisk ran to Sans and wrapped their arms around him, hugging tightly. Sans hugged back. "Why do you always choose to save the ones that are trouble, kiddo? Honestly, it's beyond me. So, what? Do ya want me to give them a chance to explain themselves?" Frisk nodded quickly and stood next to Sans. "Well, there ya go. Explain yourself, W.D."  
"Oh, I would love to explain everything right now, but after being dead for so long, I've worked up quite an appetite. I'm going to have to eat something before anything else happens. That's not too much trouble, is it?"


	12. Expiration Date

Gaster sat at the kitchen table and began eating all of Papyrus' leftover spaghetti once he was untied. It was almost unnatural to see someone eat Papyrus' cooking in such an excited manner, but if you've been dead for so long then even the most unappetizing food would most likely taste amazing; at least it made Papyrus happy. Sans kept a close eye on Gaster while sitting across from him as the strange skeleton struck up a conversation with Alphys. Frisk could hardly understand half of what the two were saying, but from what they could gather, it was a bunch of sciencey stuff that related to the creation of Souls. Toriel stood next to Gaster and watched him even more closely and was much more blatant about it than Sans. She had the look in her eyes that most mothers get when watching their child's sketchy friend.

At last, the final container of spaghetti was empty and Gaster was satisfied. He leaned back in his chair and sighed, happy with eating so much. Sans forcefully cleared his throat and Gaster sat up. "Oh, right. I'm supposed to explain myself, well-" there was a knock on the front door and his sentence came to a halt. Frisk scuttled through the kitchen and living room to answer it. Upon opening the door, Frisk was greeted with the sight of a slightly anxious Mettaton EX holding a bouquet of pink and lavender flowers while putting on black lipstick. He looked down at Frisk and smiled. "Hello, darling. Could you please bring Papyrus here for a sec?" he asked sweetly. Frisk nodded, ran into the kitchen, grabbed Papyrus' hand and dragged them to the door.  
"Frisk, what are you doing?! This is really important and.. M-mettaton? Why are you?" Ever so slowly, Papyrus' eyes looked down and the beautiful bouquet of flowers and then up at Mettaton's grinning face. "Why did you bring flowers to my home? And... why do you look even sexier than usual? Particularly, your lips."  
Mettaton brushed a few stray strands of hair out of his eye and held the flowers out to Papyrus. "Don't people normally look nice when asking someone on a date?"  
Papyrus looked around and behind Mettaton and cautiously took the flowers. "Am I supposed to give these to someone?"  
"No, you goofball! They're for you! I'm asking you on a date, Papyrus."  
Frisk had never seen a skeleton turn so red in their entire life. This skeleton that was supposedly a grown man proceeded to squeal like a little girl and said yes to Mettaton's request. "Should I change first?"  
"Sweetheart, you're fine. C'mon, I know a nice place we can go." After that, Mettaton grabbed Papyrus' hand and left. Papyrus waved goodbye before Frisk had shut the door and bounded back to the kitchen. It wasn't showing, but Sans was happy for Papyrus as was everyone else... but Gaster.

Laughter erupted from Gaster as he banged his fist on the table. "Oh my GOD! Is that _really_ the best he can do? Some... machine with a Soul? I can't say that I'm not amazed at how functional it looks, but wow. You'd think he'd go after someone that was _born_ , not _made_. Then again... I could say the same thing for Mettaton as well."  
Toriel spoke up. "Gaster, could you please explain everything now?"  
Gaster sighed and cracked his neck. "Alright, everyone listen because this is a long story and I am certainly not repeating it," his skinny fingers tapped on the surface of the wooden table as he recalled past events. "Back when I was the Royal Scientist before Alphys here, I was working on a way to create artificial Souls, or at least, make clone of my own. I failed, but only slightly. You see, I was able to make smaller, inferior versions of my Soul that I had ported to a Save file. If my death was to occur, the copies would reanimate into one efficient version of my own, and one version that... was everything else about me. After my demise in the Core, Sans and Papyrus appeared and had a few of my memories along with basic life skills. Papyrus was meant to be a powerful, intelligent, god-like being that would continue my research for me in an attempt to free the underground. Sans was going to be the inevitable leftovers of my good traits. But, things went wrong and my traits were all jumbled between the two. Technically speaking, Sans, you and your brother should not exist. However, lots of things in this world should not exist if you look at it like that. Man-made things such as clothing or books."

It took Frisk an extra minute to process what Gaster just explained. They wanted to ask Alphys for a more understandable version, but they got it after a while on their own. Not only did Gaster have the power to Save, but he was able to utilize it in such a way that Frisk could never begin to dream of doing. The only thing Frisk could do was delete a few lines of coding and change some numbers. Gaster on the other hand could create entirely new living things from himself and have them scheduled to appear after certain events. It got Frisk wondering if they could possibly change scripted events and also create entirely new people from nothing.

Sans appeared to be slightly upset. He already knew that his life was unnatural, but hearing it out loud make him want to tear someone's throat out. "I knew that already, W. Now tell me why you've been giving Frisk nightmares." Unfortunately, Gaster passed out face down on the table and didn't show any signs of waking up soon. Even after Sans shook, poked, and prodded the strange monster, he didn't budge an inch. Toriel suggested that he should sleep on the couch for now. Sans refused to carry him so Toriel did it instead. For some reason, Sans seemed... almost depressed. He wasn't making light of the situation like he usually did and he seemed rather distant from everyone despite being inches away from them. Alphys tried talking to him, but he wouldn't talk back.

Soon enough, Papyrus returned from his date and had his dark orange ascot over his face and tied around the back of his head for some reason. "Papyrus has returned! Now, I shall nonchalantly go up to my room and stay there for the rest of the evening," he stated.  
"Bro, why are you hiding your face?" Sans asked.  
"It is none of your business why I am hiding my face, brother! It is a new fashion statement! And although I am not able to see properly, I am still quite amazing." Papyrus stumbled blindly towards the stairs for a few seconds before Toriel snatched the fabric off of his head. Low and behold, Papyrus was trying to hide black lipstick marks on his cheek and forehead. It appeared that Mettaton was really interested in the goofy skeleton, and judging by the lack of smudges, Papyrus didn't mind. Papyrus ran upstairs while shouting, "I'm going to bed now!" and locked himself in his room.

Gaster sat up soon after Papyrus went to his room and yawned. Before he could ask anything, Sans demanded that he tell them why he's been scaring Frisk to death. "I will admit that I've been trying to contact Frisk through their dreams, but I was merely trying to communicate with them before my arrival. No, something else interfered and has been scaring Frisk ever since. It is a presence that goes by the name 'Flowey', and it is by far the most disturbing creature I have ever come across."


	13. Demon Slaying

"D-did you s-say... Flowey?" Alphys asked. Her claws shook, her teeth chattered, and she was seating heavily just from hearing a single word.  
Gaster nodded and looked around at the shocked faces of Sans Frisk, and Alphys. "Do you know of this creature? I know for a fact that he isn't a monster, but 'creature' is too kind for him. How do you say... demon. Demon is a more appropriate term."

Sans' breathing got funny and his eye was glowing again. He looked down at his feet and spoke as if he were clenching his jaw. "Frisk. Are you absolutely SURE that I can't kill that... that **hellspawn**?" Frisk nodded and Sans clenched his fists. He looked up at Frisk and began to shake uncontrollably. "Frisk... why? Why do you choose to save something that has done nothing but hurt you? Weren't you scared? Didn't your heart ache? He made you cry so much. He... he made you..." Toriel put her hand on Sans' shoulder and told him that Frisk was the kind of person that would never kill another being. "But they won't be killing anyone. _I_ will." Frisk frowned and walked up to Sans. They looked him in the eyes to show that they were confident in their actions and Sans soon calmed down. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I don't mean to act like that, I... I understand if you kinda hate me for saying those things." Again, Frisk shook their head. "Of course. You're too soft to hate anyone. Heh.."

Gaster couldn't believe what he was seeing. The accident that he had created was actually capable of being reasoned with _and_ could show compassion. Gaster never programmed or directed the parts of his Soul to do anything of the sort, and yet it was happening right in front of him. He shook it off as nothing more than another error on his part.

"So, G-gaster," Alphys started. "How do we stop Flowey from giving Frisk nightmares?"  
Gaster rubbed his chin. "First, we have to find the demon. Killing it or erasing from the Save is out of the question, despite being irrational to not do so. I think with the help of Sans and you, Alphys, I can neutralize whatever he's using to get in Frisk's head."  
"Sounds good to me. When do we start?" Sans asked. "I've got the flower in my room, so we can take our research there."  
Gaster stood up and looked down at the smaller monsters. "Oh, you have him? We should start now, if possible. Please, lead the way."

Sans lead Gaster and Alphys to his room to study Flowey, and Frisk was left with Toriel. "Well, I do not entirely understand what is going on, but I am here for you, my child." Toriel patted Frisk on the head. "So, what would you like to do now that the others are busy? It is not quite your bedtime yet, after all." Frisk pointed at the window and noted how much snow was on the ground. "You would like to play in the snow with me? Well, get your coat on! We can build snowmen and maybe an igloo."

Toriel's words made Frisk want to jump for joy. They grabbed their thick, winter jacket, put on their snow boots, and slipped on a pair of pink gloves. Once they were ready, they noticed that Toriel had done nothing but put on boots. They told her that she'd catch a cold, and Toriel just laughed it off. "Do not worry, Frisk. I will be warm. Now, let us go." She turned on the porch light and opened the door for her and Frisk to leave the house. It wasn't windy out, so playing outside wouldn't feel as cold. The other homes all had their lights on and there were no other people outside other than the occasional car that would drive by. Frisk immediately began to work on a rather tiny igloo that would only fit them. They looked over at Toriel and decided that it would have to be much, much bigger to house the two of them. Frisk destroyed their tiny creation and began anew, starting with a much wider base. "Frisk, why did you tear it down? I thought it was lovely." Frisk explained that it was too small for Toriel to fit inside. This made Toriel smile.

Frisk struggled with making a much larger igloo more than they had expected. There was enough snow to make one, but it was a lot of work for one child. Frisk didn't ask for help, but Toriel assisted them regardless. It was a lot easier to build it when they had a monster with such large hands helping.

At last, their masterpiece was complete. It was just big enough for Toriel to sit inside of, even if the entrance was a bit small. Frisk crawled inside and Toriel soon followed behind them. "You did an excellent job," she told Frisk. They smiled proudly and snuggled up to Toriel. She more than happily snuggled back.

For a minute, it felt like everything was back to normal; before Frisk climbed Mt. Ebott. They imagined being back with their biological mother and father before things went bad. They imagined that their parents still loved them and didn't hurt them just for living. They imagined that the monsters were freed from the underground without them having to run away from home. They imagined that they didn't purposefully fall down the hole in hopes that they would never get back up. They imagined that they had never met Flowey.

"Frisk, is everything okay? Why are you crying?" Frisk wiped their tears and told Toriel that they were crying because they were happy to have such a wonderful mother. "You are so sweet. I am glad that you think of me as Mom. Now, let us go back inside. We have been sitting here for quite a while now. I can make you something to eat before bed, if you would like." Frisk exited their igloo and went back inside. Toriel came in soon after and went to the kitchen. "How does a chicken pot pie sound?"

Frisk ate until they could eat no more. It felt great knowing that things would go back to normal soon, but they wondered what the future held for Gaster. Would he be staying with everyone? If not, where would he go? If Papyrus and Sans only existed after Gaster died, what would become of them? Frisk didn't want to think of it any longer, so they signaled Toriel, saying that they wanted to go to bed.

The tiny, human child was carried upstairs and to their room. Papyrus was in there for some reason and was sitting on Frisk's bed. "Fear not, Toriel! I will be spending the night in the human's room just in case they have any more bad dreams." Toriel smiled, tucked Frisk in, gave them a kiss, said, "I love you," and then left. A small night light shone faintly in the corner of the room, and the sound of soft snow gently hitting the window could be heard faintly over Frisk's breathing. Papyrus sat next to their bed and kept an eye on the door, occasionally glancing at Frisk. "Please do not worry. I'm going to make sure everything will be ok. After all, that's what best friends do."

For a while, Frisk just stared at the ceiling. Something felt off, but they couldn't place a finger on it. The fact that their nightmares kept playing back in their head didn't help them sleep, either. Papyrus noticed the lack of shut eyes and made it his goal to get Frisk to sleep. "Why are you not asleep yet? Do you need something?" Frisk shook their head. "Well, _something's_ wrong. You don't have to tell me, I'll just.." Papyrus crawled into bed with Frisk and wrapped his arms around them. "There. The great Papyrus promises to never let anything bad happen to you."


	14. Saving Bones

After Frisk came home from school the next day, they saw a rather unusual event taking in the living room. It wasn't something that they couldn't have possibly never seen occurring, but they just didn't expect it to happen while all the drama with Gaster was going on. Papyrus was sitting in front of the television while playing a survival horror game with outdated 3D graphics while Undyne and Alphys watched, and Gaster and Sans were playing a board game with... Flowey. Frisk did a double-take. It was Flowey alright, and he was playing a turn-based board game with Frisk's family. Although, he wasn't being very cooperative. Every time it was his turn to draw a card or to move, he'd throw a fit and Sans would do it for him.

Frisk was greeted by his family and was invited by both groups of game players to join them.  
"Human! Come watch me play Silent Hill! It has puzzles, Frisk! PUZZLES! You of all people here would appreciate such a fantastic game." Papyrus paused his game and was almost shaking from excitement. Sans probably bought him the ancient game and system from the pawn shop down the road that he liked to visit occasionally.  
Flowey let out a deep growl. "Yeah, go play with your doofus friend. I don't need another person telling me, 'Don't pass go,' or 'Don't collect 200 dollars.'"  
Sans playfully poked Flowey where his nose would be if he had one. "Lighten up, pollen boy. Frisk, you should play with us next round. Gaster is surprisingly good at Monopoly."  
"Indeed," Gaster added. "We are seeing how the demon reacts to others' friendship and competition. So far, he doesn't get it."

Before Frisk could agree to playing with either side, they were scooped up by Undyne and sat in front on the TV. "Frisk doesn't wanna play a game with that freak, Sans," Undyne said "They'd MUCH rather watch Papyrus get the calcium scared out of him while doing a bunch of lame puzzles."  
"Undyne, have you SEEN the monsters in this game?!" Papyrus asked, pointing at a bloody nurse. "Look at that! I've never seen something so terrifying. Did we even have any of them in the underground?"  
Alphys cleared her throat. "Uh, Papyrus? I think that those monsters were made-up."  
Papyrus sighed. "What a shame. I'd love to be friends with one of them."

Eventually, Flowey threw a temper tantrum and flung pieces of the game he was playing around the room. Sans picked him up and carried him back to his room while Gaster cleaned up and followed soon after. Frisk wondered how long it would take for them to find out how Flowey interfered with their dreams. They also wondered why Sans and Gaster made him play a game with them instead of just asking him a bunch of questions until he cracked.

Undyne nudged Papyrus' shoulder and was trying to hide a big grin that was slowly spreading across her face. "So, I heard that you and Mettaton had fun yesterday. You wanna tell me what I missed?"

Papyrus paused the game and stared blankly at the screen. His face was tinted a soft shade of red. "Well, we went out to get some Nice Cream, we talked, and we... we..."

"W-wait!" Alphys interrupted. "Is this appropriate for Frisk to hear?"  
Papyrus looked over at Frisk and squinted his eyes. "Speaking of Frisk, why do you look so fuzzy?"

"Stop avoiding the question, Papyrus! Do you feel like carrying me on your shoulders while doing a ten-mile jog?" Undyne became slightly aggressive with her words.

"No, it's not just Frisk that's fuzzy! Everything is fuzzy! Sans, is this one of your pranks?" Papyrus attempted to stand up but quickly fell to his knees. "Wh-what is this weakness? I can't... even..." Undyne caught Papyrus before he fell out. She knew that something was wrong, and until she knew how to fix him, she carried him up to his room and had Alphys take a look at him.

Frisk went along with Undyne so that they could bring the bad news to Gaster and Sans. Hopefully Gaster would know what to do since they were a part of him. When Undyne opened the door to Sans' room, said skeleton was lying face-down on the floor with Gaster standing over him. "I was afraid this would happen," Gaster said.

Papyrus and Sans were asleep together in Papyrus' race car bed. The two showed symptoms of a fever, but Gaster had clarified that skeletons could not get sick. They appeared to be insignificant amounts of pain, as they were moaning and coughing in agony. "W-what's wrong with them?" Alphys asked Gaster.

"Isn't it obvious? They're dying. While I am alive, they cannot exist since I coded them to only exist after my death. That code is now nullified, so they'll be reduced to dust in a day or two."

Undyne nearly broke every bone that Gaster's body was composed of just by staring at him. She was staring at him in such a way that it looked like he was going to burst into flames at any given point. " **Fix them. Now.** " It was the first time that Frisk ever heard her speak in a such a low, intimidating voice. It made Frisk's skin crawl and the words weren't even directed at them.

Gaster was unfazed by her reactions. "I can't. Not unless I die." There were a few seconds of pure, terrifying silence. Nobody said a single word as Undyne and Gaster locked eyes. Undyne summoned a spear, looked at it, and the looked at Gaster with a sadistic smile. It was at that moment where Gaster knew that he should have kept his mouth shut. "Now, let's not do anything irrational. With Frisk's help, I can surely keep them alive without my death."

Undyne's arm quivered as if she was readying an attack. "You just said that you can't unless you die. You're just prolonging your own pathetic life, aren't you?"

"Well, no, I-" Gaster's sentence, and his life, were both cut short by an attack that was astonishingly not executed by Undyne. Nor did the attack come from Sans because he was dead asleep. Instead, it came from the lovable Papyrus, whom had driven a long, sharp bone through Gaster's chest. His right eye was glowiing a bright shade of orange before he exhausted his last bit of energy. Gaster looked down at the weapon and then up at Papyrus. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting _this._ Not from you, anyway." The man fell to his knees and began laughing. "I guess you really saw right through me, huh, Papyrus? Get it? That's a pun, you know. But, you know that there is no way that I can exist alongside you and your brother. Hell, Sans said it himself that my life is unnatural. Any moment now... I'll be nothing but dust... and you guys won't even know which one of you is the eldest! Sad, is it not?" Gaster's face slowly started to disintegrate and created a small pile on the carpeted floor. His laughing slowly turned to soft sobs while his arms were reduced to similar piles at his sides. "Seeing all the friends that you two have made... the lives you've built for yourselves... I'm almost jealous. I never had any friends. I never had any body to care about me. But... I can feel it. I can feel everyone's love for you two through our shared Souls. I can feel how much they care about you. Don't worry. After I die again, you two will be fit as fiddles." Papyrus' weapon faded away and Gaster collapsed onto the floor. The last thing that turned to dust before his death was a bit of his head and neck. "You guys are technically twins, by the way."

With the help of Undyne and Alphys, Frisk placed Gaster's ashes were put into a plastic baggy until they figured out what to do with them. Undyne couldn't get over the fact that Papyrus actually killed someone. She could never have seen that happen in a thousand years, even if his life depended on it. She assumed that the only reason he did it was because he was dying and had to do something to save his brother.

Toriel came home about ten minutes after Gaster's death. Undyne told her that he had perished but left out the fact that he was murdered by Papyrus. Instead, she told Toriel that he was found dead in Papyrus' room.

Frisk didn't know what to make of the hectic day. It wasn't the first time that they had seen a monster die, but it was still somewhat traumatizing. Alphys asked if they needed to talk about anything, and Frisk kindly told her no. They figured that it was best to forget about it. That night, Frisk slept better than they had ever slept since they left the underground. No nightmares, no visions, no memories and no tears. They did, however, have one, short dream. Someone spoke to them in a familiar voice. They couldn't see the person, but before they woke up, it said "Take care of them, Frisk."


	15. School Dazed

[ **Author's Note:** Why is everyone shipping the skeletons with the child skeleton in squishy armor/flesh? I could ask myself that same question.. Anyway, prepare for feels. Or not. I don't care, as long as you enjoy what you're reading.]

Frisk sat at the kitchen table and tapped their pencil on their homework that was due the next day. Their feet swung playfully while the gears in their head turned. They were learning about multiplication and math wasn't one of Frisk's strong suits. English? Easy. Science? Kinda fun. History? Boring, but easy. Math? God help the poor child. It wasn't as if they weren't trying; quite the contrary, actually. Frisk was hoping to master every subject to the best of their abilities, no matter how difficult.

There were only ten questions on the sheet of white paper. Eight of them were multiple choice, and the last two Frisk had to solve on their own. They completed the first six and decided to take a break. Toriel always told them that you should never push yourself when doing something important. Frisk got themselves a big glass of apple juice and then sat down to continue their work. Papyrus entered the room soon after with Sans following closely behind him. Ever since he killed Gaster, everyone had been keeping a close eye on the goofy skeleton. The only people that weren't somewhat afraid of him since then was Toriel, because she was purposely uninformed, and Frisk.

"Sans! It's bad enough that I have to egg you on about your chores, but now you're constantly following me?! Explain!" Papyrus rummaged through the fridge to find something for him to snack on and he handed Sans his bottle of ketchup.

"What? Can't a guy admire his bro?" Sans took the bottle from Papyrus' hand and stuck it into his coat pocket.

"I suppose you can. Oh. Hello, Frisk! What are you writing?" Frisk explained that it was their homework and that it had to be done by the next day and Papyrus closed the fridge, unsatisfied with the lack of snacks. Papyrus then stared intensely at the paper. "Ah, math. The natural enemy of the skeleton. For you see, we have no brains."

"Ain't _that_ obvious?" Sans mumbled before chugging the ketchup and putting what was left over back into the fridge.

Two more of the problems were done, and Frisk was proudly showing all of their work. They tried to ignore the noise around them that was caused by Papyrus trying to cook and Sans watching his every move. It didn't seem right how everyone was treating Papyrus, even if he didn't really notice. Sans was constantly on his back, Undyne subliminally insulted him at every chance she got, and Alphys wouldn't even go near him anymore. It wasn't even because he killed Gaster, but instead, it was because nobody expected the sweet, innocent Papyrus to do such a thing. What made matters worse was the fact that Papyrus didn't even remember doing the deed, he just knew that he got sick, and when he woke up, Gaster was dead.

At last, the homework monster was slain and Frisk could finally rest easy knowing that they didn't give up or ask for help. They drank the last of their juice, put the cup in the sink, and asked Papyrus if they could watch him play more Silent Hill. Papyrus agree excitedly, but Sans pulled Frisk over to the side to have a quick word with them. "Hey, I know that you see the good in people and whatever, but I'm still a little cautious about my bro. He never hurt anything before unless it was an accident, and he _certainly_ didn't kill Gaster on accident." Frisk told Sans that they understood what he was saying but still wanted to hang out with his cool friend. Once Sans heard those words, a big, stupid grin could be seen on his face and he could no longer say no to Frisk's request.

Papyrus grabbed Frisk's hand and took them to the living room. He sat on the couch, put a cushion on his lap, and then sat Frisk down on the cushion before starting up his game. He was immediately stumped on a puzzle where if he left the room, a monster would come out from under the fridge and eat him. After about three tries, Frisk suggested that he should put the ring he found on the broken chain to prevent the monster from getting out. Their idea worked, and Frisk earned themselves a skeleton kiss from Papyrus.

"I expect nothing less from a fellow lover-of-puzzles, Frisk! Now, let us continue to do... whatever it is that I was doing before getting stuck in that room." Papyrus paused the game a few seconds after saying those words and held his head in his hand. Frisk asked what was wrong. "It's... just a headache. Nothing that the great Papyrus cannot overcome!" He started playing for a few minutes and paused again, this time he was groaning with pain. "If I wasn't so amazing, I would say that this hurts! However, it does not, so I am going to continue playing." Frisk told Papyrus that he should stop playing if he didn't feel well. "No no, I'm fine!" Frisk asked Papyrus to not lie to them. "I... You're... You're right. I have to go lie down." Frisk held Papyrus' hand as they walked him upstairs and to him room. He got under the covers of his bed and thanked Frisk for being such a good friend. Frisk smiled, kissed his forehead, and held his hand until Sans walked into the room minutes later.

"Everyone alright in here?" Sans asked.

"Yes, things are fine. I'm just not feeling too well."

Sans told Frisk that he would take over and Frisk nodded, but didn't want to leave the room. They told Sans that they were going to stay with Papyrus for as long as possible. Once Toriel was home, Sans assured Frisk that they could go. Frisk left, leaving Sans with his brother. "You know, bro," Sans started "you're really starting to worry me. You haven't had a headache in a while."

Papyrus sighed. "I can assure you that it's nothing serious. I'm just having a nightmare while I'm awake."

Sans flinched and tried to keep a cool, collected expression. "What? While you're awake? How?"

"I keep seeing things that I cannot explain, Sans. Well, not things. Just one thing, over and over again. To be honest, it scares even me, the world's best brother."

Sans patted Papyrus' arm. "You wanna tell me what you're seeing?"

"Well... I was laying here in bed with you, and Gaster said something that had really upset Undyne. The next thing I know, I'm feeling livid. When I recall this nightmare, the anger I feel is of a certain intensity that cannot be matched by even your worst puns. Then... I don't wanna talk about what happens next."

Sans put on a fake smile. "C'mon, bro! It won't get any better unless you tell me."

"Th-then, I... I killed him." Papyrus showed an emotion that was not common for him to express. He was genuinely sad, and not in a comedic way whatsoever. Tears began to form in his eyes and Sans did his best to keep them from flowing down his face. Sans had to try his best not to get misty eyed as well. "I killed him, didn't I, Sans? Is that why you keep following me? Because I'm a murderer?"


	16. Papyrus' Plea

Sans was trying his best to console his sobbing brother. There was no point in lying to him anymore since he already knew what he did, and it was sickeningly depressing to see such an upbeat person cry so hard, especially since it wasn't really his fault. Little did they know that Gaster had anger problems, and that trait was passed down and split between the brothers. Sans was able to control his emotions most of the time, and Papyrus... well, he had never been truly angry with anything until that catastrophic day.

Papyrus sat up and cupped his face in his hands. "Sans, I'm a murderer!" he cried out "I killed an innocent person, Sans! How can I possibly face everyone like this?! Undyne will never speak to me again! Frisk won't want to be my friend! You won't-"

Sans gave his brother a tight hug and patted his back. He didn't want to admit it, but hearing Papyrus say such things made him just want to give up on everything. After all, his brother was his life. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. Sure, Undyne's a little sore after what you did, but that's nothing I can't fix. And Frisk will be your friend no matter what, okay?"

There was a split second where Papyrus thought of doing something cowardly. It was something that such an eccentric and giddy person would never let cross their mind, even when everything looked bleak. Papyrus wiped tears from his face and inhaled deeply. "You really think Undyne will forgive me?"

"Of course, bro! If she didn't who else would she annoy?"

Papyrus chuckled. "Frisk will still be my bestest friend?"

"Absolutely."

"And... and you.." Papyrus swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. "You'll still respect me?"

Sans looked up at his brother and gave him a big smile. "Now and always."

While the brothers were upstairs, Frisk had been in the kitchen with Toriel. They were helping her do dishes before she got dinner started. Toriel washed them, Frisk dried them and put them away once they got into a big enough pile. Normally, Papyrus would put the dishes away since he was the tallest of the household and could reach where Toriel couldn't, but Frisk could do just as well. Because of their small stature, the could easily scuttle across the countertops to put cups and plates away. The only thing that Toriel wanted to put away herself were the sharp knives. "Thank you for helping me, Frisk. Now, what would you like for dinner tonight?" Frisk looked down the the soggy dish cloth and thought about what they wanted. Anything that Toriel made was tasty, so it didn't really matter. However, they wanted to cheer Papyrus up, so they suggested a lasagna. It was like spaghetti, but layered. They knew Papyrus would love it. "That's a wonderful idea, Frisk. Could you fetch Sans for me, please? I am going to need his help." Frisk nodded and ran upstairs to Papyrus' room. They thought that before he went to help Toriel, they could talk to him about Papyrus.

Frisk gave Papyrus' door a few firm knocks, and seconds later, it opened. Papyrus was looking much better and was smiling happily. Frisk grabbed Sans' sleeve and gave it a tug, indicating that they wanted him to come with them. "What is it, Frisk?" Sans asked. Frisk stood on their toes and whispered to Sans that they needed him to help Toriel make a lasagna, and that it would be a nice surprise for Papyrus. "Yeah, that _would_ be nice, wouldn't it? I think he'll like that."

Papyrus crouched down to get on Frisk's height level. "Who will like what, Frisk? You must tell me! I wanna be in on the secret, too!"

"It's nothin'. Toriel and I are just gonna make-out downstairs for a while." Sans flashed Frisk a quick wink, hoping that they'd catch onto his plan. Frisk winked back and stuck their tongue out in pretend disgust. "Why don't you hang out with Frisk until the coast is clear?"

"Oh my God. Sans! That's disgusting! How could you say such things in front of the human?! You and Toriel are gross with your mushy lovey stuff." Sans shrugged and left the room, leaving Papyrus with his tiny human friend. "Worry not, human! You do not need to be subjected to such things while you are here with me." Frisk thought that it would be a good idea for Papyrus to read them a few of of their favorite stories to pass the time, so they grabbed his hand and pulled him towards his bookshelf. They didn't get very far, though. For the first time, Papyrus rejected Frisk's touch and put his hand behind his back. Frisk tilted their head in confusion, and Papyrus looked away from them. "I am sorry, human. I do not think that it's such a good idea for you to get so close to me." Frisk pouted and gave Papyrus their best puppydog eyes impression. "Please do not make this difficult. The great Papyrus... just isn't feeling that great right now. However, I shall read you a story, seeing that is what you were after."

Almost two hours passed and Papyrus had read every book on his shelf. They were sitting right by the shelf and the enormous pile of books they had created. The entire time they were in his room, Papyrus hardly ever made physical contact with Frisk. It was hard enough for him to even look them in the eye, but Frisk would not give up. They knew why he was doing this, and they didn't want to believe it, but it was the truth. Somehow, Papyrus knew what he did and thought that he was going to hurt Frisk. One way or another, they were going to figure out a way to convince him that he was still a good person.

"Do you think they're done being gross by now?" Papyrus asked. Frisk shrugged and moved a bit closer to Papyrus. "Eh... I told you that being too close to me is a bad idea." Papyrus moved a few inches away from them, and they moved a few inches closer. "I'm serious! I don't want you getting hurt!" This repeated until Papyrus was stuck between a wall and the tiny, human child. He sighed deeply. "Okay, you got me. What is it that you want?" Frisk snuggled up next to the goofy skeleton and looked up at them, smiling. "You... you know what I did, don't you? And you still want to be my friend?" Frisk nodded. They _had_ to be sure Papyrus understood that they weren't afraid of him. "Heh. You really are a super-cool friend."

There were laughs and a few hugs before Papyrus scooped the human up in his arms and went downstairs and walked into the kitchen. Toriel was just pulling the lasagna out of the oven and the amount of wonder and joy that radiated from Papyrus upon seeing such a beautiful creation was nearly audible. "IS THAT A SPAGHETTI CAKE?!" Papyrus asked.

Toriel nodded. "I supposed you can call it that. Yes, a spaghetti cake that needs to cool down for a bit before you can have any."

Papyrus impatiently sat at the kitchen table with Frisk as he awaited the arrival of the fabled spaghetti cake. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and it was glorious. Just several thick layers of flat noodles, cheese, red sauce and meats. If Papyrus had saliva glands, he'd be drooling. "Where is my brother?" he asked out of the blue. "He should be here to witness something so amazing with me!"

Toriel placed a plate of lasagna in front of Frisk and Papyrus before answering. "He said that he needed to talk to Undyne about something."


	17. Core Friendship

While Papyrus dug into his spaghetti cake, he couldn't help but wonder why Sans was talking to Undyne. Sans DID tell him that he'd sort things out, but how was such a lazy person going to convince Undyne of anything at all? The thought of it was comedy gold to Papyrus. He could just imagine Undyne throwing spears at Sans and then having them completely miss because he'd refuse to move from a single spot. If only Papyrus knew what his brother was capable of.

Frisk was proud of themselves for helping Papyrus feel better about himself. Although they were still unsure of what prompted him to suddenly kill Gaster, it surely had a good reason to it somewhere hidden within Papyrus' Soul. His actions eventually got Frisk wondering how powerful he could be if he wasn't sick and if he was actually using his full power. The thought of it made them shudder.

Eventually, Toriel grabbed herself a plate of lasagna and chowed down. She noticed how Papyrus was no longer looking down and smiled. It felt like it was her job to keep everyone's spirits up, along with her actual job of teaching and being a mother to one child and two man-children that just couldn't keep out of trouble while she was away. It always seemed like something went wrong while she was at work or out shopping. Luckily, she had Frisk to keep everyone in check. She always found it ironic that the youngest of the household was the one keeping everyone together.

The front door swung open and a very anxious Undyne walked in, followed by Sans. Toriel invited her to come eat with them, but she kindly refused and walked up to Papyrus instead. Frisk was worried that she was going to tease him or hurt him because of what he did. Instead, she looked back at Sans, cleared her throat and began telling Papyrus about how much he meant to her. Papyrus' jaw dropped and pride radiated from his ever-growing smile. From the corner of their eye, Frisk could see Sans nodding his head in approval with Undyne's words. After Undyne left, Sans sat down with the rest of the gang and grabbed himself a small portion of lasagna.

"Sans! What did you do to Undyne? Why was she so nervous when she walked by you?" Papyrus asked in between bites of his food.

"Don't worry about it, bro. Undyne and I just had a little chat about you, that's all. I just, uh, **encouraged** her to tell the _bare bone_ _s_ truth about you."

Toriel chuckled and Papyrus squinted at his brother. "What do you mean, 'encouraged'?"

"I told ya not to worry about it."

"I'm going to worry about it!"

Once everyone finished their meal, Frisk wanted to go outside and play in the snow with Papyrus and Sans. Since there was no snowball tax on the surface, Papyrus was more than happy to play. Sans told Frisk that he'd be happy just watching them have fun. When they left the house, Frisk noticed that their snow fort was still standing and had accumulated a bit more snow on top. Papyrus was proud of their creation but wanted to make his own on the other side of the yard. He stated that he and Frisk were going to have a snow-war, and for a proper war to occur, he first needed a base. Despite the fact that he and Frisk were about to be pretend enemies, Frisk helped Papyrus build his fort. It was mostly just a large, thick wall that came up to Papyrus' chin, but he seemed really happy with it. The war commenced once Frisk stood behind their fort and started playfully lobbing snowballs at Papyrus.

At the end of it all, Frisk was victorious and had claimed that the war should end between the two sides. "You have bested me, human! Who knew that your squishy appendages were so efficient at creating artillery?"

"You'll get 'em next time," Sans added while sitting on the porch.

"Sans, why don't you play with the human and I? We could all sit in Frisk's fort and tell silly stories!" Papyrus clapped his hands together optimistically and smiled.

"Just sit in the fort and tell stories? We can do that on the couch."

Papyrus whimpered like a small puppy until Sans agreed to his request. Sans simply couldn't say no to him. Somehow, all three individuals were packed inside of Frisk's fort. Papyrus had his arms around Sans, and Sans had his arms around Frisk. It was like a horizontal matryoshka doll, but will skeletons and a child. "Who wants to tell the first story?" Papyrus asked.

"I guess I will," Sans did the skeleton's equivalent to clearing one's throat and started the story. "Well, this one time I went to Grillby's and I sat down up front like I normally do.." Frisk zoned out during Sans' story and instead focused their attention on the sound of squealing tires outside. It was normal for someone to get stuck in the snow around that time of the year, but the sound's location moved, indicating that the person was not stuck. As time went on the squealing got louder and became more clear, and Frisk wasn't the only one to notice it. "-and that's why the jukebox is broken. All over a slice of pie." For some reason, Frisk felt the need to go back inside. They felt like something bad was going to happen if they stayed in there any longer.

Upon exiting their snow fort, they were greeted with possibly the third most terrifying sight that they had ever seen; a car was hurdling towards them at roughly four times the speed limit in a school zone. They didn't even have time to react when the car came less than a yard away from them. The only thing that Frisk could do was shut their eyes and hope for it to kill them instantly with little to no pain involved.

There was a quick rush of air that went by Frisk's side that was followed by the unpleasant sound of crushing metal and screeching tires. After a few seconds of waiting for their life to be cut short, Frisk opened their eyes and saw Papyrus standing in front of them with his foot firmly buried in the hood of the car. Sans was standing next to his brother and it appeared that Papyrus had gotten there first. The person at the wheel was downright horrified at the sight of what could have happened. Papyrus turned around and looked at Frisk; his right eye glowing a faint orange. "F...Frisk. Are you hurt?" Frisk shook their head and began trembling. Papyrus didn't look like himself at all. He looked exceptionally pissed and was about to unleash his rage on the person driving the vehicle once he walked up to his window. " **You.** Do you know what could have happened?" Even Papyrus' voice sounded dark and furious, and it only got worse with every word. "You nearly killed someone by accident. YOU NEARLY KILLED MY FRIEND!" Sans ran up to Papyrus and told him to calm down. "Calm down?! Sans, Frisk could have died! And for that, this man deserves to be punished." Papyrus summoned a spear-like bone and held it in his shaking hand. Frisk didn't like where this was going and was still too scared to move, so they covered their eyes. "THIS is what happens if you try to kill someone's friend!" Papyrus held the bone above his head and drove it downwards in the direction of the man's neck. Sans was able to stop his attack before it made contact with his skin by grabbing onto Papyrus' arm. "Sans! Let go!"

"Dude, LOOK at what you're doing! You'd never do something like this!"

"It doesn't matter. He almost killed my friend!"

"Oh yeah? Well, if you don't stop, I don't think you'll have Frisk as a friend anymore."

Frisk kept their hands tightly over their eyes to try and stop the tears from flowing down. What Papyrus was doing had scared them more than the car did, and it showed in their shaking knees and spilled tears. Papyrus destroyed his weapon and ran over to Frisk, kneeling in front of them before speaking. His voice was back to normal, was were his eyes. "No, Frisk! Please do not cry. I was never going to hurt him, I promise! Please look at me, Frisk." The crying child took their hands away from their eyes and Papyrus wiped their tears. Papyrus' eyes were full of sorrow and guilt, and Frisk could see Sas standing behind him, as if he was readying an attack if something went wrong. "I'm sorry, human. I don't know what's wrong with me. I understand if you can't be my friend anymore. Why would anyone want to be friend with a murderer that nearly struck twice?" Frisk refused to believe that Papyrus was in any way, shape, or form, a bad person. tTey knew him as a kind individual with the best kind of personality and a spirit that would never give up. In one last act of hope, Frisk wrapped their arms around the confused skeleton and hugged them tightly. "Wowie. I guess that means we're still best pals, huh?"


	18. Metallic Obsession

[ **Author's Note** : Mettaton's legs fill my pants with determination. Don't judge me.]

The car incident came and gone. Toriel gave the driver a firm talking to before helping him take his car home. Papyrus, Sans, and Frisk were left home alone to figure out what was causing the tallest of the trio to act so unusual. Sans already had a good idea of what was going on but wasn't willing to share his theory just yet. In the meantime, Frisk decided to just sit down and watch some cartoons to get their mind off of the events of that day. The brothers thought that they had the right idea and joined Frisk. Cartoons always made things better.

Papyrus' phone started ringing halfway through an episode of Frisk's favorite cartoon. Like always, he answered before it got to the third ring. "N'yello, Papyrus here."

"Papyrus, hun! It's Mettaton. How's everything been?"

"M-Mettaton?! How did you-"

"Get your number? Oh, Blooky is quite good on the computer. It didn't take long for him to figure it out."

Papyrus crossed his legs and began smiling uncontrollably. Most people would find it creepy if someone they didn't know somehow acquired their number and then gave it to their crush, but Papyrus took it as a compliment. Even Papyrus knew that it wasn't easy to find someone's number when they've never put it out online before, so seeing as Mettaton would go through that kind of trouble just to get it, he was quite flattered. "S-so, why have you called the great Papyrus? Are you in need of my assistance?"

"I'm in need of you in more ways than one, doll. Hahaha~!"

Papyrus scratched the top of his head. "I'm not sure if I follow. Do you have _several_ issues for me to solve?"

Mettaton covered his mouth and laughed softly. "No, not exactly. I was just wondering if I could come over."

"Well, I... I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Papyrus was worried that he would do something bad in front of Mettaton. He didn't want his crush to look at him like some sort of freak. "We could just talk for a while on the phone."

A noticeably disappointed whine came from Mettaton. "Aww, but I wanted to hang out. My battery will be done charging in a bit, are you sure I can't drop by?"

Before Papyrus could answer, Sans snatched his phone away. "This is Sans. My bro's just bein' shy, come on over."

"Oh, really? Tell him that I'll be over as soon as I can!" Mettaton hung up.

"Sans! Give me my phone back immediately!" Papyrus attempted to get his device back, but Sans was using the confused Frisk as a shield. "Human, you mustn't help my brother! He only has bad intentions."

Sans tossed Papyrus his phone back. "Too late. He's coming over, whether you like it or not."

"B-but, what if I-"

"You won't. Trust me."

It wasn't long before there was a knock on the door. Expecting it to be Mettaton, Papyrus went to answer it. To his surprise, it was Toriel, who had just gotten home from helping the man that Papyrus mentally scarred for life. She asked why Papyrus seemed so disappointed, and he explained that Mettaton would be over soon. "Oh, then we should clean up, should we not? Help me do the dishes, Papyrus. Sans, Frisk, could you make the living room look presentable?"

"You got it, Tori. C'mon, squirt. Help me with the vacuum." By that, Sans meant: 'I'll get the vacuum out, and you push it around until the floor looks decent.'

After Frisk pushed the vacuum across the living room floor until no crumb was left behind, the doorbell rang. Frisk answered it before Papyrus could get there, and Mettaton was standing at the entrance. He was wearing a rather expensive looking white, marshmallow jacket and matching pants. Frisk would have called for Papyrus if he wasn't already standing behind them. "Hello, Mettaton! Come on in!"

Mettaton entered the house and smiled brightly as he took off his jacket and hung it up. "Thank you for having me over. It's too cold out today for me to be wandering around outside for too long, so I thought that we could just watch television or something." Toriel smiled and Mettaton from the kitchen and he waved. "Oh, hi Toriel! You don't mind me being here, do you?"

"Not one bit. I am glad that you could come over to keep Papyrus company. I actually have a bit of shopping to do. Do not break anything while I am gone."

Sans tapped Frisk's shoulder to get their attention. "You wanna go get some Nice Cream with me? I think the two star-crossed lovers need some alone time. Besides, it'll help Papyrus gain back some of his confidence." Frisk nodded and Sans helped them put on their coat, boots and gloves. "You know what? Why not just sit on my shoulders so you don't have to walk as much?" Frisk tilted their head. They thought that they would be too heavy for Sans to hold. "Yeah, just climb up and let me do the walking. I gotta keep my bones in tip-top shape _somehow._ " With that, Frisk made their way up to Sans' shoulders and got a view of the world that they wouldn't be able to see for a few more years. Everything looked so different from atop of Sans. They almost felt like a giant, and they wondered how different things would look if they sat on Papyrus' shoulders.

As Sans walked down the street, they came across several familiar faces. That one monster kid with no arms was walking with his sister, Bratty and Catty were hanging outside of a pawn shop while chit-chatting with pedestrians, and a few fuzzy monsters were out and about with their families and friends. It reminded Frisk of Snowdin but with a much happier atmosphere. Sure, there were still your average problems of theft and just general depression, but all the monsters were filled with hope knowing that if they were freed from their underground prison, they could do anything.

The Nice Cream parlour wasn't very far from Frisk's home, so they sometimes went there after school on hot days. Ironically, Nice Cream seemed to have more customers during winter or just cold days in general. The Nice Cream man greeted the two cheerfully upon their arrival to the outdoor parlour. For some reason, having the shop completely outside at all times didn't affect the number of customers, even though there were just a few recycled picnic tables with large umbrellas over the tops of them. "Welcome to the Nice Cream parlour! What'll you guys have today?"

Sans lifted Frisk off of his shoulders and had set them by his side. He pulled a couple dollars from his pocket and handed them to the Nice Cream man. "I'll have plain vanilla. What about you, pal?" Frisk told the man that they wanted blue raspberry, and in no time at all, the two had their frozen treats. Sans sat down at one of the tables and Frisk sat next to him while happily licking their Nice Cream. "Y'know, Frisk, I wanted to get you outta the house so that I could talk to you privately about Papyrus'... well, I'll call it a 'condition.' But for now, finish your treat. You deserve it, kiddo."

Meanwhile back at the house, Mettaton and Papyrus were getting a kick out of a zombie series that came out on TV not too long ago. The drama had Mettaton clinging to every word and scene, and the authority of the main character reminded Papyrus of how he saw himself.

Out of the blue, Mettaton had something serious to get off his robotic chest. "Hey, Papyrus? I've got a question for you, dear."

Papyrus was just barely able to tear his eyes away from the screen long enough to pay attention to Mettaton. "Yes, Metta?"

"It's a silly question now that I think about it. But... if we were to perhaps get more intimate with our relationship, I'm not quite sure where I'd touch you."

Papyrus squinted his eyes quizzically. "What do you mean... more intimate? You've already kissed me!"

It took all of Mettaton's strength to not laugh hysterically at Papyrus' response. _Is he serious?_ Mettaton wondered, _Does he even know how those sorts of things work?_ "Ah, for example, where are you most sensitive? Your ribs?"

"Hmm... do couples normally tickle each other? Because that's what it sounds like you're trying to do! Well, you're going to have to figure it out on your own! Nyeh heh heh!"

Mettaton took Papyrus' words as a challenge and began tracing his fingers over every part of his body, starting with his skull. Eventually, when he got down to Papyrus' ribs, he flinched and moved back a few inches. "So THAT'S where you're sensitive, eh?" Mettaton took the opportunity to tickle Papyrus relentlessly, earning himself snorts and giggles from the skeleton.

"N-no! Stop this immediately!" After receiving his fair amount of tickles, Papyrus decided to get revenge. He tickled and poked Mettaton's sides, and before long, the robot had his back on the couch and was laughing and begging for mercy. Papyrus seized the moment and crawled atop the defenseless robot and ran his fingers up and down his sides. "Nyeh heh heh! Who's sensitive NOW?"

"I give in, I give in!" Papyrus finally stopped his tickling and pinned Mettaton's wrists above his head to keep him from trying to get him back. Mettaton saw his actions as something else entirely and froze underneath him. Papyrus was practically straddling the poor, blushing robot and it was driving him crazy. "Y-you can get off now, dear."

"Not until you admit that I'm better at this than you!"

Mettaton smirked as an idea hatched in his mind. "Do you honestly think that I'm trapped beneath you? Quite the contrary, hun." Mettaton wrapped his long, feminine legs around Papyrus and pulled him downwards until their chests were touching. Such an action caught the skeleton off guard and made him gasp loudly. " _You're_ trapped on top of _me_ until you let my hands go."


	19. Heavy Things

Frisk happily licked away at the last of their Nice Cream, and Sans...well, Sans' Nice Cream just sort of disappeared, cone and all. Frisk assumed that he ate it whole while they weren't looking. "I didn't know that you were such a sucker for blue raspberry," Sans stated. "You ready for me to drop some heavy information on you yet?" Frisk equipped their determined mindset and nodded seriously. Sans cracked his neck to relieve some tension in it before speaking. "It's just a theory, so you can't really judge me if I'm wrong. But, uh, you've noticed how Papyrus has been getting more nimble, yeah? Well, you'd be wrong for thinking that. Papyrus has always been able to do what he's been doing recently, he's just been too soft to actually go through with any of it. My theory here is that since Gaster died twice, and since I got most of his redeeming qualities the first time he kicked the bucket, Papyrus now has what he was meant to have since the first time around. Except, y'know, he's still a lovable oaf." Frisk asked Sans if this would be a problem in the future. Sans scratched his head. "Only if we can't control him. Starting tomorrow, I'm gonna have Undyne train him ten times as hard so that maybe he gets some sort of self control." After sharing his thoughts with Frisk, Sans got up from his spot on the table and held his hand out for Frisk to hold. "You gotta be kidding if you think I'm carrying you back. You've gotten a lot bigger since your fall."

Back at the house, Mettaton and Papyrus were at a stalemate. Neither of them wanted to release their grip on the other, and neither of them wanted to look like they were giving up. For the longest time, their eyes were locked as the two thought of ways to make the other crack. At least, that's what was going through Mettaton's mind. Where he saw it as a competition, Papyrus saw it as just playing with his almost-boyfriend. Mettaton attempted to wiggle his hips to try and shimmy himself into a more dominant position, but his actions instead moved him down further under Papyrus, making him feel smaller. Eventually, he just gave up and unwrapped his legs from around his partner. "Okay, okay. I give in, you win."

"Haha! The great Papyrus never loses, even if he didn't know that he was trying to win something!" Papyrus released his grip on Mettaton's wrists and sat back on the couch. "I was beginning to worry, Mettaton! You seemed as if you were... overheating?"

Mettaton sat up and attempted to hide the embarrassment on his face. "Did I really feel that warm to you?"

In order to assure Mettaton of his claim, Papyrus put the back of his hand on the robot's forehead. "Mmm... yep! Like an oven! Would you like me to get you some ice in a little plastic baggy?" Papyrus had unintentionally made Mettaton's 'overheating' problem worse by touching him unexpectedly, thus turning his normally pale face a soft pink.

"No, thank you. I'll cool down here in a minute." Mettaton smiled and tried to get certain undesirable thoughts out of his mind.

"Well, while you're cooling off, I'd like to get you back for the other day!"

"Pardon?" Papyrus wrapped his arms around Mettaton, pulled him into his lap, and nuzzled his forehead against Mettaton's cheek. "Wh-wh-what are you doing?" At that point, Mettaton had no doubt in his mind that Papyrus was doing this on purpose. His face heated up more than before and was soon going from pink to tomato red.

"You kissed me before, but I was too shy to kiss back! Now, I am returning your affection! Accept my love!" Papyrus smiled and gave the robot a hug once he had finished 'kissing' him. "Wowie! You're really warm! I think you should go stand outside for a bit before you melt." Mettaton agreed that he should step outside until he cooled off. He oh-so carefully left Papyrus' lap and took a step outside, shutting the door behind him. It was getting dark, but he could still see the steam coming off of his body.

Toriel came home with an armful of groceries, and Mettaton asked if he could help, but she told him that since he was a guest he shouldn't have to do anything. "Oh, and, why are you outside? Aren't you cold?" Toriel asked.

"No, I had to step outside or else there'd be a Mettaton-shaped pool of molten metal on your carpet."

"Oh dear. Should I call Alphys?"

Mettaton would rather have his circuits torn out than have to explain why he was burning hot to Alphys. She updated his software to have him react to certain situations as humanly as possible, and he knew that she'd find out why he was heating up by just glancing at him. "N-no, I just need to cool off for a bit." Sans and Frisk came walking up to the house soon after Toriel went inside. By then, Mettaton was cold to the touch and decided to go back in. He sat on the couch and held hands with Papyrus, thus effectively paralyzing him. Sans was helping Toriel put away groceries, and Frisk was getting ready for bed.

"You just gettin' home, Tori?" Sans asked while putting away various vegetables.

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering." While searching through the last bag, Sans found his favorite type of wine and a tiny, decoratively wrapped box labeled, 'To: Sans' in cursive handwriting. "Are these for me, Tori?"

Toriel smiled and walked over to Sans. "Yes, they are. I thought that I would get you something for working so hard and for being a part of our family."

Sans blushed and then sat the wine on the counter. "I don't know what to say."

"Well, open it! Tell me what you think."

Sans tore away at the red wrapping paper and opened the box to find something that was actually quite expensive. It was the newest version of monster-made smartwatch that could easily have costed over three-hundred dollars. "Where... how the heck did you get the money for this?"

Toriel winked at Sans. "This old woman still has a few tricks up her sleeves. I thought that it would be perfect for you since you can watch your funny videos on it. Does it fit?"

The watch was a perfect match for Sans' somewhat large wrists. And with the touch of a button, it displayed the time and all of the current apps on it. "This really is amazing. How can ever repay you?"

"A kiss would be nice."

Sans froze up and then laughed nervously as his face became a noticeable blue. "Haha... one of my kisses ain't worth three-hundred bucks."

Toriel kneeled in front of Sans and tilted his chin upwards. "I think they're worth more than that, Sans." With all the courage he could muster, Sans touched his forehead to Toriel's. She giggled at how cute he was and gave his cheek a normal, non-skeleton kiss. This caused Sans' face to be perfectly painted a dark blue. "I was right."

Suddenly, Papyrus came running into the kitchen, and it looked like he had something urgent to say. "Sans! I messed up, I messed up BAD!"

At that very instant, Sans snapped out of his flutered state to help his brother. "What'd you do?"

Papyrus fell to his knees and put his hands on his brother's shoulders. "I hurt him, Sans! I hurt Mettaton!"

"Calm down, okay? Tell me exactly what happened."

After taking a deep breath, Papyrus began speaking frantically. "We were cuddling and talking and he started overheating again so I moved over and my leg brushed against his thigh and he made a sound like he was in pain and now he's covering his face and won't talk to me-e-e!"

"Oh my god." Sans covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but to no avail.

"Sans! Are you laughing?! It's not funny! I think he's in pain!" Toriel caught on to why Sans was in stitches and chuckled softly. "You too, Toriel?! How can you guys be so cruel?!"

"Bro, you didn't hurt him. He's just embarrassed."

"Sans, you don't understand! It sounded like I really hurt him." Sans cupped his hands over where Papyrus' ear would be if he had one and whispered the truth to him in the most mature manner that he possibly could. By the end of his explanation, Papyrus was strawberry red. "Y-you mean... oh. Oh my." Papyrus stood up and ran to the living room. "Mettaton! I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional!"

Not long after Papyrus left, Frisk waddled into the kitchen in their penguin pajamas and told Toriel that they didn't feel good. Toriel kneeled down to assess the situation, and when she did, she was horrified. Their face was covered in scratches, as were their hands. She was going to ask what had happened, but soon found out on her own when several thorny vines rapidly wrapped around their arms, legs and neck, turning the poor child into a twisted puppet of some sort. They looked up at Toriel with tears and blood in their eyes, and Flowey's head appeared from one of the vines at their neck and said, "You're all just so STUPID!"


	20. Darkening Conscious

Frisk's body twitched and trembled as Flowey's vines wrapped tightly around them. His thorns dug deeply into their flesh and caused copious amount of blood to soak their pajamas and spray out on onto the floor. They felt lightheaded after only a few seconds, and the initial pain from the thorns had dissolved into a numb, dream-like soreness. Toriel attempted to tear the tendrils off, but even the slightest touch caused Frisk to cry out in pain as the thorns dug deeper into their arms, neck and sides. "Don't even THINK about it, Toriel," Flowey said. "If you try and pull me off, I'll only wrap myself tighter around them until they either bleed out or choke to death. But, if you just leave me here, I'll squeeze the life out of Frisk and take their Soul. Now you have no option BUT to kill me! Go on, take a knife and drive it through my head! Or just pop my head off with your hands. It's not that hard, is it?" Toriel's hands trembled as she reached for the vine that was tightly wrapped around their child's neck. There was no other option, was there? It was time for Flowey to die.

"Wait!" Sans called out. "Frisk! When did you last Save? Just reload back to then and tell me what happened!"

Flowey jerked the vines around Frisk's arms back, causing them to take a painful step backwards. It seemed as if Flowey thought Frisk had lost their powers once they left the underground. "You can't still do that. You CAN'T! It's impossible!"

"Please, Frisk!" Toriel cried. "I know that you do not like meddling with our lives and time itself, but we do not want anyone to die!"

" **DON'T YOU DARE, CHARA!** " Flowey became noticeably more and more frustrated with their words. He planned everything so that it would go his way, and it backfired horribly. "I'll just end you before you can go back!"

By the time Flowey had said those words, it was already too late. Every time Frisk entered or exited the house, they Saved; it was a safety precaution just in case something went terribly wrong. They quickly loaded from the last time they Saved and everything shot to black. This was normal, and they'd be back at their last Save point in a minute or two. When everything was loaded back up, they were just coming home from eating Nice Cream with Sans. Frisk could still somewhat feel the thorns digging into their tender skin. They shook their head to clear their mind and then went up to Sans in the kitchen and tugged on his sleeve. "What is it, kiddo? You look spooked." Frisk explained that Flowey was in their room and that he tried to kill them, so they had to reload their Save file. Sans sighed and patted Frisk's head. "I'm glad you're not hurt. I'm gonna go share some words with pollen boy. In the meantime, why don'tcha help Tori put the groceries away?" Frisk nodded and took over for Sans as he left the room and went upstairs.

Just like last time, Papyrus did something to Mettaton and the poor skeleton ran upstairs to ask his brother for help. Frisk could hear Sans laughing upstairs, and his laughter was followed by silence, and that silence was followed by Papyrus shooting down the stairs to apologise to Mettaton. It looked like they had fixed everything so far. Sans entered the kitchen and smiled at Frisk. "The deed is done. I can promise ya that you can safely go upstairs now." Frisk still felt uneasy about going by themselves. It didn't seem safe because of what happened last time. "I see. You're scared. That's okay, Tori'll keep you safe."

Frisk was all snuggled into bed when Toriel gave them their goodnight kiss. It had been a long day full of surprises, and Frisk was tired in every sense of the word. Soon after Toriel left the room, they could feel themselves drift into a deep sleep. They would have been asleep a lot sooner if Papyrus hadn't decided to drop in to check on the human. "Frisk? Are you awake?" Frisk grunted and nodded slightly. Papyrus sat on their bed and sighed, cupping his head in his hands. "Do you think that I am a good person?" His question made Frisk's heart sink into the pit of their stomach. It wasn't something that Papyrus would normally ask. They said yes, but he didn't look convinced. "You say that, but I don't believe you. I made you cry, Frisk. Good friends don't make their friends cry." Frisk told the sad skeleton that even friends can hurt each other, and sometimes, they do it when they don't even mean it. "I have been thinking about something quite serious as of late. Ever since... Gaster. You would be sad if you woke up tomorrow and I was gone, yes?" Frisk sat up and nodded confidently. Papyrus was their best friend. They'd be heartbroken if he just vanished one day. They told him that everyone would be sad if he left, especially Sans. Papyrus' mood made a 360 when Frisk mentioned his brother. "You're right, Frisk! Who else is going to get my lazy brother in line if I was to... to... well, let's not go there! Instead, let us go to the realm of happy dreams." Papyrus tucked Frisk into bed extra tight and left the room looking much more cheerful. Frisk was able to fall asleep quickly and comfortably, other than a slight pain in their jaw.

The next day, there was no school. The reason? A sudden storm and about four feet of snow along with temperatures that could freeze your breath on contact. Undyne came over early in the morning to rant about how surface children were soft and would never learn anything if people called off school just because of everyone's cars being frozen to the ground. Alphys came too, but mostly because Undyne was there. She'd rather stay home and watch cartoons with Undyne, but since Undyne wasn't there, it wouldn't be as fun. Luckily, everyone was quiet enough for Frisk to sleep for an extra hour or two... or five. And a half. Getting out of bed hadn't even crossed their mind until noon, and when they _did_ decide to get up, they felt instant regret as the room around them was a blurred and spinning mess of colors and sounds. Sick again, it seemed. It had been quite a while since their last cold, and this one was much more intense. This was normal after loading their Save out of nowhere, but this somehow felt different. It didn't even feel like a normal cold, they just felt plain terrible. Dehydrated, perhaps.

Not wanting to worry anyone, Frisk slowly shuffled to the bathroom to get some medicine. They were greeted by Papyrus at the door, and he could tell that something was wrong. "Frisk? Why do you look like that?! You look like death if he wasn't a skeleton!" Frisk told Papyrus that they were fine, but it was a hard lie to believe since they could barely stand. Papyrus picked them up and carried them to the bathroom after they asked to go there. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Frisk. Why is it that I can feel something rhythmic in your chest? I don't know how to explain it. It's sort of like a... thumping sound. I never asked before because you didn't seem concerned with it, but maybe it's why you're ill!" Frisk lazily explained that the sound came from their heart, which they needed to keep thumping in order to live. "So... you have something constantly moving in your chest at all times? Does it hurt?" Frisk shook their head as they rummaged through medicines. They couldn't read half of them, so they asked Papyrus for help. "Hmm.. fever medicine... heartburn... allergies... eh... what are you ill with, Frisk? Are you ill of the heartburn?" Before Frisk could answer, they had to sneeze. That was when they knew that they weren't sick at all. They could feel one of their back molars wiggle and a little and bit of blood spilled from their gums. No, Frisk wasn't sick at all. They just had a loose tooth!

Frisk requested Papyrus to hold them over the sink for them to check something. When they spat onto the white inside of the sink, their saliva was mixed with a bright red. Papyrus gasped at the sight and began to panic. "Frisk, what kind of illness is this?! The red stuff should be on the inside, why is it coming out?!"


	21. Chest Pains

It wasn't long before everyone in the household gathered around the slightly feverish Frisk to get a glimpse of their loose tooth, making the small bathroom even more claustrophobic. Most monsters that lose teeth usually grow them back immediately with little to no pain or blood. Humans, on the other hand, would have each tooth slowly detach from their gums as the new one pokes through. This was something new to the monsters, and each of them had a different idea as of what to do.

"Just yank it out and get it over with!" Undyne suggested. "It'll grow back faster that way, right?"

"U-Undyne, it'll fall out on its own.." Alphys clarified.

"Are you sure that it will grow back?" Toriel asked.

Alphys nodded half-heartedly and then shrugged. "That's how it works in anime, at least."

"I think we should just leave it in. It's easier than doing anything about it, right, Frisk?" Sans was almost tempted to rip the tooth out himself because the sight of it made him uncomfortable. It made him wonder what it would be like if one of his own teeth had become loose, and the thought of losing teeth was one of his worst nightmares. It seemed so unnatural and just plain painful just to look at. During everyone's assumptions about Frisk's tooth problem, Papyrus was practically laying on the ground and had the side of his face firmly pressed against Frisk's chest. No amount of other bodily functions had ever fascinated him like a heartbeat before. It was like a tiny, life-giving drum that had been beating since the moment Frisk was born. The sound it made was also very soothing to him. "Bro, what are you doing? You've been like that for at least five minutes."

Papyrus sat up and grabbed the front of his brother's shirt to pull him towards the human. "Have you ever heard a heartbeat? It's beautiful, listen!" He pointed excitedly at Frisk's chest and gave it a small tap.

"May I?" Sans asked Frisk. They nodded and Sans rested the side of his head on their chest and listened closely. "This is certainly different. Human hearts beat a lot louder than any monster heart I've ever heard."

"Other monsters have heartbeats too?!"

"Yeah, man. I've got one, and so does Alphys and Toriel," Undyne stated.

Papyrus looked like he had just uncovered the meaning of how all life came to be. "You've been living with this thing in your chest the whole time, Undyne?! Your Majesty as well?!"

It took a little while for Undyne to calm Papyrus down about his new discovery. He just couldn't wrap his head around an organ that could push liquid through a being AND make such an interesting sound. While that was going on, Alphys decided to get a better look at Frisk's tooth. When she touched it, it just barely wiggled, so it would be another day or two for it to fall out unless Frisk wanted to tear it out immediately. Frisk shook their head at the option and Alphys breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I think it's best to just... let it do its thing, you know?"

Time came and gone, and the group went on to do their thing. Toriel went to make something soft for Frisk to eat, Papyrus was making a new video in his room, Undyne and Alphys commandeered the couch for an anime marathon, and Sans was... somewhere. He was always somewhere, obviously, but this time he was at a somewhere that wasn't anywhere near the house. It was normal for him to vanish unexpectedly, but Frisk got an eerie feeling about his absence. No, it wasn't just from Sans not being there. Something was wrong. The house felt empty and lifeless. The colorful family that Frisk one had were reduced to static images plastering a barren, untextured background. Frisk tried talking to their family members, but all they got in response were repeated, lifeless lines of speech that droned on and on, no matter what Frisk said. Panic began to set in as the once colorful characters of Frisk's story looked drained and zombie-like. All eyes were void of emotion and movements skipped and repeated at random. This reality that Frisk had entered could not even be escaped. Their Save point was gone, and the doors and windows may as well have been just stickers on the walls. The small child ran frantically around the house, crying out to the people living there. Frisk's eyes stung as tears and blood filled them and mysterious cuts and bruises littered their flesh. Every movement was painful, but they couldn't give up. They kept crying to Toriel, Undyne, and Alphys, but they never received a response.

Slowly, each and every one of Frisk's beloved family members dissolved into thin air and Frisk was left in the void alone. The walls leaked a pitch black liquid until they were completely coated with darkness, and the floor cracked into jagged puzzle pieces before shattering, revealing a dark pit of nothingness beneath them. Frisk soon lost control of their movements because of the unbearable pain that had soaked into every muscle, bone, and inch of skin they had. Even breathing was painful; it was as if their lungs were filled with scalding hot water that could not be expelled. It seemed as if they were floating in this void, almost like they were deep in the ocean at night; no light, no sound, no clear sense of direction. Still, they had not given up. They called for help and they called for their friends, even if it meant that they had to bawl in between words.

It wasn't long before the human child realised something that they never wanted to be true. It was an indefinite truth that could not be altered or manipulated in any way. It was a truth that no being filled with determination would _ever_ want to even consider happening.

Frisk was alone.

For the first time, nobody came to help Frisk. They were stranded and damned to float in a sea of black for as long as their body could take it, and nobody was even there to say goodbye. When did Frisk really see their family for the last time? Was it when Frisk went to the bathroom? Did they even wake up that morning, or the morning before? Did they even wake up from falling down Mt. Ebott? Or, was it always like this? Frisk didn't want to think about that. They couldn't go through everything again since they knew what would come. They had to hold onto hope. They couldn't give up, no matter how much pain they were in or no matter how hopeless they felt.

There was no indication as to how much time had passed. Hours, maybe? It could have been mere seconds, but it was enough time for Frisk to figure out how to lessen the pain. They stopped calling for help and slowed their breathing to a nearly unnoticeable rate. This almost caused them to lose consciousness, but they didn't really care. It wasn't as if it mattered anymore. There was nothing for Frisk to hope for anymore, after all. To them, everything was gone and there was nothing they could do about it. All they could do was focus on the sound of their slowing heart to distract them from the depression that surrounded them. Each beat was tiny plea to the world, and each beat grew further and further apart until there was nothing more to hear. The pain had stopped, but Frisk could no longer think clearly. Memories of their family's voices echoed in their mind until it became a roaring typhoon of mindless sounds. From this wicked storm, they could pull out a few familiar voices, but none of which they could identify the owners of.

"Are you there, my child?"

"C'mon, kiddo. I know you can pull through."

"Human! You must wake up!"

"You got this, Frisk! Use your determination!"

"D-does it hurt? Oh geez, please get up.."

The sound of their heart reanimating and beating again had startled Frisk, causing them to draw cool air into their lungs. To their surprise, it didn't hurt to breath. It didn't hurt to move their arms or legs either. The darkness that had engulfed Frisk was dissipating quickly like a black fog to reveal a fuzzy image of their family worriedly hovering over them while they were laying in bed. The nothingness and hopelessness they had felt was replaced with the warmth of a soft blanket and relieved smiles of happy faces. Frisk attempted to sit up and hug everybody, but their body felt limp and heavy. They couldn't even really hear properly, but through the jumble of words, Frisk could hear Toriel say, "Thank goodness Flowey saved Frisk."


	22. Best Friends

Frisk just assumed that they heard wrong from Toriel. Flowey was the one trying to kill them earlier, and it was more believable to think that Sans had saved them instead. Truth can be stranger than fiction, as those words were repeated and questioned by almost every member of Frisk's odd little family.

Again, Frisk attempted to sit up. This time, they powered through the headache they had and looked around the room. Wanting to be sure that this was real, they reached out and tugged on one of Toriel's floppy ears. They were tangible, and since Toriel giggled at their touch, Frisk was almost certain that this was reality. "Why are you fascinated with my ears so suddenly?" Toriel asked. Frisk shrugged and proceeded to poke and touch everyone else within reach. A pat on the head for Alphys, feeling Undyne's muscles, petting Papyrus like a small animal and tapping on Sans' skull. They really were all there; a bit more confused, sure, but they were real.

After assuring themselves of the reality that they were in, Frisk asked what happened to them. Since Sans knew what was going on a bit better than everyone else did, he took it upon himself to explain the situation to Frisk. "Well, how much do you remember?" he asked. Frisk told him about Flowey, loading their Save, and then... nothing. The rest was blank and what they COULD recall was distorted. They told Sans that they remembered it being really dark and painful before waking up. Sans shook his head. "You fell unconscious before you could load your Save. You lost a lot of blood back there, so we took you and the flower to the hospital. For once, he cooperated and actually looked like he felt bad for hurting you. You, uh, got up and walked around when we got home from that place. You don't remember any of that?" Frisk shook their head and rolled up their sleeves to look at the scratches and cuts that Flowey gave them. They furrowed their brows when they found that their skin was unmarked and asked Sans why they didn't even have the slightest injury. "See, that's what we wondered, too. When we got to the hospital, your wounds were just... gone. We can only assume two things; one is that you're magic and you healed on your own. Or two, when Flowey got off of you, he fixed ya. I'm gonna go with the latter since almost no humans can use magic."

Undyne and Alphys had work to do, so they left soon after they knew Frisk was alright. Toriel, Sans and Papyrus all went downstairs with Frisk to eat; Toriel made mashed potatoes and Papyrus was ecstatic about them. To him, any food that could be squished up into something better was truly great. He tried making spaghetti that way once, but it turned more or less into a casserole because of the lack of noodles.

Frisk wasn't exactly interested in eating after what they went through. They could remember bits and pieces of what could only be described as a fever dream, and they didn't enjoy a single second of it. The colorless monsters, the plastered-on windows and doors, the skipping movements, and the overall eeriness of the dream... it made Frisk feel physically ill. Not to mention that they could vaguely recall the pain that they were in while floating in a mysterious black void. The emptiness they felt while there gave them a dull sensation of depression that hung over their head like a leaky gray cloud. The feeling was far from pleasant and it had eaten away at their appetite.

"Frisk? Are you listening to me?" Papyrus waved his gloved hand in front of the daydreaming human's face, bringing them back to reality. "Wow, you really are out of it today! All because of a flower that made you spill your red stuff all over."

Papyrus' words made Frisk cringe a noticeable amount. "I think they'd rather forget that, bro," Sans told his brother.

"Whoopsy-doodle. Sorry, Frisk." Papyrus smiled brightly and patted their back lovingly. "There, there. Would you like me to cheer you up? I bought a new puzzle book recently. We could complete it together! Waddaya say?" For once, Frisk declined Papyrus' offer. They weren't in the mood for some reason. This was certainly not normal since Frisk would always agree to do anything with their friends. "Oh. Perhaps another time!" Sans suggested that they could go to the new Grillby's for some burgers, and again, Frisk declined the offer.

After a few more ideas of 'fun' things to do, Frisk told Toriel that they wanted to see Flowey. This was not a decision that they had made on their own. Something deep, deep inside of their Soul told them that they had to talk to Flowey. But, it wasn't exactly a _something_ as much as a _some **one**_. Another being was influencing their choices and words just enough to get Frisk to say and do as they pleased. They felt disgusted.

Of course, Toriel was skeptical of their decision to see Flowey, but Sans assured her that nothing bad would happen and went to go get the potted plant. Papyrus left the room because he didn't want to see Flowey again after what he did, and Toriel held Frisk's hand when Sans came back into the room with the vile little plant. After being set on the table, Flowey smiled sincerely at Frisk before speaking. "You know that I could never really kill you, right? I mean, how could I kill my bestest friend? My... only friend. Are you there, Chara?" Toriel squeezed Frisk's hand at the sound of Chara's name for obvious reasons. "I know you're there, Chara. You killed them all on your second time falling down, didn't you? Wasn't that fun?"

Sans glared at Flowey and then slowly shifted his gaze to Frisk. "Kid... you didn't, did you? Everyone was... I saw them... my god... say it ain't so, buddy."

Flowey chuckled and turned to face Sans. "Believe me, I was there to see it all. The first time they came down, they didn't kill a single thing. They made friends with every monster they came across. They freed everyone from the underground and lived with Toriel happily... until they got bored."

Frisk snatched their hand away from Toriel's and sat quietly with their head down. It had hurt knowing what they did way back before they thought of everyone as people, and it showed on their face. They wanted to tell Sans to take Flowey away, but they could barely move their own body. They felt like a numb puppet with heartburn. "Is this true, Frisk?" Toriel asked.

More laughter came from the plant. "Oh, Toriel. If only you knew who was sitting next to you. I'm not sure if you'd be terrified or overjoyed. No, your child that you love so much **killed you not too long ago.** Right, Chara? You started doing it just because you were curious, but then you got stronger. You wanted more. You wanted to see what would happen if they ALL died. Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, Mettaton, Sans... Oh, don't get me started on Sans! How many times did it take for you to kill him alone? Six? Seven? I can't believe you tried sparing him, too. Like he'd fall for that. And once they all died... Chara came back, deleted everything, started over and made everyone love them. And this 'Frisk's' grip on the world that _they_ made is slowly slipping away, isn't it? Right now, it looks like you won't be going back anytime soon. Is that because you want them to suffer instead? Or are you going to abuse your Save powers to kill them and load over, and over, and over again? Oh wait... you've already done that, haven't you?"


	23. Unknown Intentions

It was at that moment when Frisk realised that Flowey was lying just to get them to feel bad. Sure, Frisk may have reset the world a few times and killed Toriel on accident their first time around, but they NEVER purposely wanted to kill a single monster. In fact, Frisk could even recall every time they 'fell down' and reset the world, and not once did they go on an unbridled murderous spree of hate. After realising this, Frisk's body soon returned to normal. They no longer felt numb, depressed or like they weren't in control. They felt like themselves, and they called Flowey out on their lies with the confidence of Undyne.

"Wow, you must think you're special just because you have a strong Soul, don't you? Yeah, Chara just gets pushed back further and further every time you regain hope, but I know the truth. They'll never know if you really killed them all at least once. But somehow, you know what I'm talking about when it comes to the battle with Sans. I'm as surprised as everyone else. How DO you know about that?"

Frisk told Flowey that they knew because Flowey told them about Sans and what he was capable of.

"Shut up! YOU'RE the one that requested to see me! Isn't that proof enough? Why did you want me? Are you trying to make fun of me?!"

Sans sighed and patted Flowey on the head. "Tori, I think he's just trying to upset us. This is Frisk we're talking about! They didn't even raise their fist at Undyne when she threatened to kill them. Plus, if they wanted to kill us and then go back, they would have done it by now and it's been over a year." Judging from the sound of his voice, it sounded like Sans was trying to convince himself more than Toriel.

"Don't listen to that bastard, Toriel! He killed ME more than once! Do you know how many times I've had to rest because of him?! You can't trust anyone!"

Sans leaned in real close to Flowey's face and started whispering menacingly. "If you did something bad enough for me to kill you, then you deserved it."

"Sans? Why is the plant yelling? Do I have to come in there?" Papyrus asked from the living room.

"Nah, we got-"

"Too late!" The taller of the brothers soon entered the room and stood over the spiteful plant. "Why are you throwing a hissy-fit? You'll upset my best friend!"

"H-hey, Papyrus.." Flowey smiled anxiously at the skeleton as if he was afraid of something.

"This is no way to behave, especially around Frisk! I deem you as a bad influence and I'd like Sans' permission to put you back on his desk." Papyrus looked over at his brother for a signal of some sort. He nodded, and just like that, the flower was whisked upstairs.

Toriel patted Frisk's head. "That was... certainly interesting. What a foul creature. Are you sure we should keep it in the house? Even after that?" Frisk nodded. After all, even things like Flowey don't deserve to be alone. "Okay, but if he hurts you again, I am going to put him in a cage and leave him in the attic."

Frisk felt... odd about what happened. They couldn't quite put their finger on why they wanted to see Flowey, or why they distanced themselves when he spoke about Chara or killing the others. Frisk knew about Chara. Frisk knew that if the gained any LOVE that Chara would take over. This was clear. What was not clear was the answer to why they felt so empty earlier. Was that Chara testing the limit to their powers? If so, why hadn't they tried before? Was Chara responsible for their weird dream? Thinking about those things was like trying to put together pieces of a puzzle with about three pieces replaced with bits of a different puzzle. Frisk pondered these thoughts for a while as Toriel cleaned up around them.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go and play with Papyrus? It will be much more fun compared to just sitting here and watching me clean."

Frisk nodded and left the kitchen to find Papyrus and Mettaton sitting on the couch together. Frisk wondered if Mettaton ever left, or if he left and came back once Frisk was home.

"And the star approaches! How are you feeling, darling?" Mettaton scooched away from Papyrus and patted the spot between the two for Frisk to take a seat. "You HAVE to tell me what happened. I'm dying from a lack of drama!"

Frisk shambled up to their spot on the couch and told Mettaton that a flower tried to kill them in a plain and simple manner.

"Oh dear. Are you hurt?" Mettaton tilted Frisk's head upwards and slightly to the left, checking for injuries.

Papyrus grabbed Frisk by their sides and pulled them closer to him. "No no, they are not hurt. No need to check."

"What was that crack in your voice, hun?"

"There are no cracks in my voice! I am a confident skeleton with no regrets or awkwards feelings."

"Oh hun, don't tell me you're jealous just because I gave this cutiepie some attention. They're my friend too."

Papyrus crossed his arms childishly and focus his attention on the television while Mettaton struck up a conversation with Frisk.

"You've grown so much in the past year. You're practically an adult! How old are you now, darling?"

Frisk awkwardly shrugged the question off. They couldn't remember their last birthday, but they WERE in the fourth grade so they couldn't be older than eleven.

"That's a bit sad, to be honest. But I suppose that if you weren't happy with it, you'd say something, right?"

Frisk nodded happily and Mettaton giggled.

"You are just too cute~! Now I see why Papyrus couldn't capture you. Say, have you ever thought about dying your hair? I think it would look marvelous in pink."

"Isn't human hair already dead, Frisk? Why would it change color after dying? Or was it not brown-ish at one point?"

"No, Papyrus! I was thinking about changing their hair color. Didn't your friend Mark do that at one point?"

"Oh, yeah! He's one weird guy, I'll say that much."

Frisk had to turn down Mettaton's offer. They were happy with the way they looked, and that was good enough for Mettaton.

"That's the spirit, Frisk! There's nothing more important than loving yourself. If you don't love yourself, then you should fix what you don't like. Look at yours truly, for example. I was so... unsatisfied with the way I was before, but all that changed when I met Alphys at a meeting. Now, I have a glorious body that I can't help but flaunt. Do you get what I'm saying? Just be happy, Frisk."

Hearing Mettaton's words filled Frisk with determination and implanted a tiny idea in their head. This tiny idea soon turned into a solid thought that sat heavily in their mind. Frisk asked how Napstablook was doing, and Mettaton made a remorseful face.

"Oh... well, Bl- I mean, they're their normal self. I tried inviting them to come over, but they won't leave the house, and they haven't since the concert. Why? What's with that look?"

Frisk suggested that he should ask Napstablook if they wanted to become corporeal as well. They thought that the ghost would he happier and a bit less reclusive if they had their own body to show off.

"Well, I don't see what harm just asking would do. I'll let them know when I get home, although, I don't think they'll agree to it. They like being transparent when things get stressful."

"Okay! It's time for the human to go and bug Sans for a while!" Papyrus looked slightly irritated, but Frisk understood why he wanted them to go. They left their spot and hurried up the stairs to Sans' room and knocked on the door. It cracked open just slightly, and when Sans saw who it was, the door opened fully.

"Heya, squirt. What's up? Papyrus kick ya off the couch so that he can spend time with his boyfriend? No worries, I'll keep you entertained. Enter my lair if you dare."

Frisk shuffled into Sans' room and accidentally stepped on some sort of gray duck toy. When they took their foot off of it, it made an ungodly squeaking sound.

"Don't mind that thing. I was gonna put it in your bed, but now my evening plans are ruined. It's no fun if you've seen it before." Sans took a seat on his messy bed that had the sheets and blankets bunched together in a pile and Frisk sat next to him. As soon as their bottom touched the bed, they felt some sort of electric shock and stood back up so quickly that they almost fell over. "Oh, _that's_ where my buzzer went. I was gonna use it on Mettaton, but Alphys said that it might do something weird to him so, uh, it's just kinda living on my bed now. So, what's up, kiddo? You look beat."

Frisk attempted to hide their yawn, but it came out much louder than it should have. Sans threw the buzzer off the bed and into a random corner of the room.

"I guess it's kinda late, isn't it? Want me to carry you to bed?"

Frisk nodded lazily and soon enough, they were scooped up in Sans' arms and were quickly taken to bed. Sans tucked them in and gave their forehead a quick goodnight kiss.

"G'night, Frisk. See you tomorrow, m'kay?"


	24. Born Again

[ **Author's Note** : Does anyone actually read these when I put them up? If so, I am in gay robot Hell. Please send help and more Doritos.]

Mettaton knocked on the door of Dr. Alphys' home and rocked back and forth on his feet in excitement. It only took the doctor a little over two weeks for her to make the perfect body for Napstablook, and today was the day that it would be put to the test.

The white door of the one-floor home was opened by Undyne, who looked somewhat disgusted by Mettaton's presence. She was never a fan of the robot. "Oh. It's just you. Come in, I guess. Al, I'll be in my room if you need me." Undyne stood aside and allowed Mettaton to enter the rather sleek home that contained the perfect mixture of nerd and jock. Alphys' anime posters were hung about along side of several motivational posters of muscular women. For every desktop computer or filing cabinet, there was either a piece of workout equipment or a set of barbells. It seemed as if living together was working out between the two after all. From across the room, Mettaton could see Alphys holding a clipboard while standing next to a nostalgic looking robot that was walking awkwardly on a treadmill. Alphys motioned for Mettaton to come closer, and when he did, he was overwhelmed with a sense of pride. The being possessing the slightly shorter robot was none other than Napstablook.

Napstablook's new form resembled that of a less flamboyant Mettaton with cool, soft shades of blue, grey and pitch black. The points on the body, such as their shoulders, hips and feet, were much more tame and easy to look at. their hair came out as a fringe similar to Mettaton's, but was on the opposite side of their head and was much shorter. Napstablook's face also looked a bit rounder and more child-like compared to the more confident of the two.

"Blooky, you look absolutely precious!" Mettaton stated. "Now that you have this amazing new body, do you still want to call you 'they'?"

Napstablook shrugged. "I feel like a boy... so, you can call me 'he' now."

"Will do~!"

Alphys cleared her throat. "So, I outfitted his specific model a b-bit differently than yours, Metta. Whenever Napstablook wants to, he can actually leave his artificial body and come back to it and any point as long as he is sitting down. I a-also installed a cloaking device that allows him to become invisible if he ever feels the need to do so. But, right now, we're just testing how he handles everyday tasks before I send him off." Alphys scribbled some things onto the clipboard paper before looking up at Napstablook. "How are you feeling, Napsta?"

"It's weird... I can actually feel things now... I don't know... I'm sorry, I wasted your time..."

"N-no, no! It's okay, Napsta! It just takes some getting used to, that's all. Even your pal Mettaton here had to get used to it."

Napstablook looked over at Mettaton before looking back at Alphys. "Pal..? I guess we are... since we're cousins..."

"You are?"

Mettaton knelt down so that he could speak to Alphys more properly. "If you want specifics, we're fourth cousins, twice removed. Blooky is actually **much** older than I am!"

"Oh dear. You're... quite distant in bloodlines, aren't you? In that case, you two are barely even related! How did you even-"

Undyne called Alphys from the bedroom. "Al! The VCR isn't working again! If you don't get your butt in here, I'm smashing this defiant piece of junk!"

"I h-have to go." Alphys handed Mettaton the clipboard and flipped to the next page. "You remember the sensory test, right? Could you do it yourself? Just tell me how he reacts, and I'll-"

"ALPHYS!"

"G-gotta go!"

Napstablook shut the treadmill down and stepped off of it. His steps were still clunky and awkward, so Mettaton held his hand to give him some stability. "Okay, Blooky! It's time to test out how well you can sense touch. Are you ready, cuz?" Napstablook shrugged and looked up at his cousin with a forced, twitchy smiled. "Don't force your smile, hun. It's best when you're honest." Napsta nodded and resumed his blank expression. "First, we start with really light sensations." Mettaton squinted at the tiny text before speaking again. "For example, wind blowing... Close your eyes for a second, would you?" Napstablook did as he was told, and Metta blew onto his face. Mettaton noticed that he flinched when he did so, and that made it apparent that he could feel it. "Great job! Next is a neutral sensation, such as simply being touched in a non aggressive way. Let's see..."

"I... can feel you holding my hand. It's warm and... kinda soft. Does that count?" Mettaton smiled and nodded before moving to the next thing on the list. He remembered doing that part specifically and could easily recall how embarrassed Alphys became just from mentioning it.

"This one is going to be a tad strange, Blooky. We have to get your brain to induce dopamine through touch."

Napstablook furrowed his brows and looked up at his cousin with a tilted head. "What does _that_ mean?"

Mettaton cleared his throat and tried to speak confidently. "If I was to do something to you that you think would feel nice, what would it be?"

"Oh..." Napstablook tilted his head down and held a curved index finger to his lips while thinking. "I don't know... It feels nice when you're holding my hand, but... I don't know if that counts. Aren't kisses supposed to feel nice? Wait... you're in a relationship... that would mess things up... I'm sorry..."

"I-it doesn't have to be as serious as a kiss." Mettaton turned his head away from the smaller of the two to hide his blushing face. He pushed a few romantic feelings for Napsta to the back of his head when he met Papyrus, but hearing Napsta talk about a kiss made them resurface. "Hugs can feel good too, Blooky. And even if I _did_ kiss you, it would be for science."

"Then... if it's for science... could you..?"

It had seemed as if Napstablook's new body gave him a small boost in confidence since he never asked Mettaton for anything for as long as they knew each other. It was so much of a surprise for the younger of the two that it made his artificial heart skip a beat. "Well, if that's what you really want. Just let me know where to plant it, m'kay?"

Napstablook brought himself to make eye contact with Mettaton and used his free hand to tap lightly on his lips. "It probably won't be any good, though... I'm not sure if I'm any good at this, but... I want... you to..." Mettaton recognised that iconic tremble in his cousin's voice and knew that he was about to cry.

"Don't you dare, Blooky. If you want me to, I'll do it. I'm here to make you happy, remember?" Napstablook nodded and wiped any tears that began to form. His eyes still looked misty, but no tears fell down and that was an improvement. "Good. Now, I don't want you panicking, so just close your eyes and relax." Napsta did as he was told and Mettaton gently took ahold of his chin and tilted it slightly upwards. Before he could start shaking any worse than he already was, Mettaton touched his lips to theirs. Both of them experienced a euphoric sensation, and it only got better when the more reclusive one kissed back.

Alphys walked back into the room in the middle of their kiss and the sight was too much for her heart to take. She ran back into Undyne's room and slammed the door shut, alerting the pair. Napstablook pulled away from the kiss and the tears in his eyes swelled until they ran down his porcelain-like face. "She saw... didn't she? Oh no..." The poor, sobbing robot curled up into a ball on the floor while Mettaton tried to console him. "It was bad, wasn't it, Mettaton? I... wasted your time..."

Meanwhile at the home of Frisk, everything was they way to was meant to be and it was perfect; Frisk was on the couch with Papyrus, Papyrus was talking about how Mettaton was helping his cousin and that he couldn't visit that day, Sans was doing his thing, and Flowey was under his 'Punishment Blanket' that was put over him whenever he said a bad word. The only thing out of place was Toriel, who was prancing around like a giddy school girl. Frisk asked why she was so happy. "I am glad you asked! You see, I have been worried about your date of birth, and since you cannot move on to the next grade without a birth certificate, I filled out the most accurate one as possible. You are going to be ten in about six months, Frisk! Guess when the date is?" Frisk shrugged and Toriel smiled gleefully. "It it the day that I first I met you, Frisk."


	25. Shivery Confrontation

[ **Author's Note** : I am back from Hell, and I bring you some memories of when I used to live in Michigan. The following is somewhat based on real life experiences of mine.]

Toriel's minivan drove cautiously down the slick, icy road. Sans was sitting up front with her, and Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Napstablook and Frisk filled up the back seats. The group of eight were on their way to an annual festival called the Shivery that was celebrated on a frozen lake. Toriel thought it would be a good opportunity to bring the entire family there to get everyone to bond. It wasn't like they weren't close enough as a family, but Toriel always saw room for love.

"Will there be puzzles, Sans?" Papyrus asked.

"Something like that. We'll be there soon, so you'll find out on your own."

"I think... I'll just stay in the van.." Napstablook stated.

Undyne looked back at the second row of triple seats to ask Mettaton a question. "You're not gonna let him stay there all day, are you?"

"Of course not! He's coming with us to take his new bod for a spin!"

Toriel pulled the van over into a decently filled parking lot and had shut down the van. "Okay, we are here!" Toriel looked at her phone to check the time before turning to face the back seats. "It is about four right now, and I want everyone back here by nine, okay? Everybody grab a buddy and get going!" Naturally, Toreil paired up with Sans and Undyne stuck with Alphys. Papyrus insisted that he should go with Mettaton, and that left Napstablook with Frisk. Napstablook wasn't against spending the day with Frisk, but he wanted to talk to Mettaton about something.

Upon exiting the van, the group looked over a beautifully frozen lake that was thickly surrounded by snowy pine trees. After heading down the sloped parking lot, everyone could see the lake in all of its chilled beauty. There were over a dozen people around the middle of the frosted lake along with several tents, vendors, and booths. At the very back of the lake was a large pile of ice chunks, to the very left were snowmobiles and sled dogs, and to the right was a fenced-off area for ice skating. "Have fun everyone!"

Undyne took ahold of Alphys' hand and began dragging her to the back of the lake. She heard a rumor that there would be a competition for who could throw the biggest block of ice the furthest, and she wanted to show the humans how it was done. The competition was hosted by the retired wolf monster that threw ice in Snowdin to cool down the core. "You ladies here for the competition?" he asked.

"Just me," Undyne replied. "When do I start?"

The monster pointed to a pile of ice chunks ranging from the size of bricks to the size of the wolf monster himself. "Which one o' those do you think you could pick up?"

"Pfft. All of them, but then there'd be none left for the others." Undyne told Alphys to stay put while she went over to the pile, picked up the biggest piece there was in her arms, spun around three times, and then hurled it into the woods and beyond. She triumphantly returned to Alphys and high-fived the greatly impressed scientist as the wolf looked at them both with his jaw hanging open. A few other burly contestants standing behind the girls couldn't believe their eyes. "Do I get a prize or something?" The wolf nodded and handed Undyne two coupons for the takoyaki stand and a fifty dollar gift card to a nearby electronics shop. Undyne looked down at the coupons in confusion. "Takoyaki? What the heck is-"

Alphys interrupted Undyne and began speaking so quickly that most of her words were just strung together. "Oh! I know what that is! Takoyaki isatypeof Japanese snack andit'skindalikeadumpling but made with fried... octopus..." Alphys shuddered when she remembered that it contained a type of seafood and waiting for Undyne to start ranting about it.

"Is it any good?" Undyne asked sincerely.

Alphys nodded excitedly and grabbed Undyne's hand before dragging her across the ice. "I love it! It's savory and fluffy on the inside but the outside is crispy and.."

Toriel and Sans were hanging out around the stand where elephant ears were sold, and Toriel couldn't get enough of them. At first, she was quite concerned by the name since elephants are endangered, but Sans assured her that it was just a goofy name they were given because of the shape. "Tori. Tori, look."

"What is it, Sans?"

Sans ripped his pastry in half and held each half up to the sides of his head to mimic ears. "What was that? I couldn't hear ya."

Toriel giggled. "Sans, do not play with your food!"

"Aww shucks, you're no fun."

"I am indeed fun! You could even say," Toriel took Sans' treat and held them to her head in a similar fashion of what Sans did. "..that I am an ele-ton of fun!"

Sans laughed and shook his head. "That was terrible. I loved it."

The two continued to tell elephant based jokes until they finally ate the pastry. Toriel had let out a loud sigh before looking at Sans. "You know... I have been missing my ex."

If Sans had a heart, it would have sunk down into the pit of his stomach. "Really?" he asked.

Toriel nodded and bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. "Yeah. With every shot so far!"

Sans pretended to punch Toriel in the arm for making him worry. "Hehehe.. that's the best joke so far, Tori."

Papyrus was mesmerised by the sight of six adorable husky dogs pulling Mettaton across the lake on a sled at incredible speeds. Luckily, his thick coat kept him from freezing while directing them. Papyrus wanted to try it himself, but he didn't trust dogs around him since he was made of bones. Eventually, Mettaton came to a stop by the owner of the dogs, got off the sled, and walked up to Papyrus. "You sure you don't want to try?" he asked. "It was so much fun! Despite the dogs being drooling maniacs, they listen quite well."

"The great Papyrus must turn down your offer. After that dog stole my special attack, I have a hard time trusting them."

"That's easy to understand. C'mon, let's go get some snow cones~!" Mettaton began walking towards the center of the lake, and Papyrus followed him while scratching his head in confusion.

"A cone of snow? Why would I want one of those? Can't we just make some right here?"

"It's a type of food, Papyrus. It's shredded ice with flavoring. I've always wanted to try one." Mettaton walked up to the booth that was owned by someone who greatly resembled a younger version of the Nice Cream guy and asked for two rainbow snow cones. After paying, Mettaton handed one of the two to Papyrus. "It's so colorful, isn't it?" Papyrus nodded and stared at the frozen treat. He wasn't exactly sure on how to go about eating it. He saw Mettaton licking HIS snow cone, but little did anyone know that skeletons do not have tongues. It was a shocking fact indeed.

Instead of licking his, Papyrus just took a big bite out of his treat and then smiled happily. "Wowie, I didn't expect it to be sweet!"

Mettaton instinctively cringed when Papyrus just bit into what was practically ice. "Didn't that hurt? To bite into it like that?"

Papyrus shrugged. "Why would it? The great Papyrus feels no pain for puny frozen balls of sweet ice!" It actually _did_ kinda hurt when Papyrus took a bite out of the snow cone, but he wouldn't admit it.

Frisk spent the first ten minutes of their time at the festival trying to convince Napstablook to go ice skating with them. "No... they'll just laugh at me, and I don't even know how to skate... I'll fall and break the body Alphys made... I'll mess up and hurt you or someone else..." Frisk sighed and instead asked Napsta if they wanted any hot chocolate. "I don't need to drink anything... If I do, it'll just turn into more energy that I don't need. It'll be a waste." Frisk wasn't going to stop until they saw Napsta smile in his new body, so they grabbed his hand and took him to the hot cocoa stand. Frisk hand to stand on their toes to properly see the man behind the counter, and then they asked for two, small hot chocolates with extra marshmallows. Napstablook paid for the drinks and went to sit down at a bench with Frisk. He stared down at the steamy liquid and wondered if he should drink it right away. After seeing Frisk practically chug theirs, his mind was made up and he took a tiny sip. It was hot but incredibly sweet thanks to the marshmallows, and Napstablook loved it.

For the longest time, Napstablook carefully sipped his drink while Frisk played some new games on their phone. Napsta wondered how they could interact so well with people and not freak out, despite their young age. It was almost like magic to him. He wondered what would be different if he could speak his mind to specific people. "Frisk. I... have a question. It's kind of... serious." Frisk looked up at his friend and nodded, waiting on their query. "I don't expect an answer I can use, but... what do you do... when you want to tell somebody something important... but you're afraid they'll laugh?" Frisk told Napstablook that they should tell the person anyways. If they laughed, it wouldn't matter in the future because at least you didn't keep your feelings to yourself. "Oh... I might do that later... You're a good listener. Thank you for helping me..."

Just as the two were about to get up from their spots, a tall, muscular man bumped into Napstablook and had knocked him over. Being his normal self, Napstablook apologised for something he didn't do. This did not make Frisk happy in the least. The child went up to the man and asked him to say sorry to his friend, and the guy laughed it off. Frisk then stood in front of the man and almost DEMANDED that he apologise. "Or what? Are you gonna beat me up?" Frisk shook their head and stood their ground confidently. "Fine. I ain't got a problem punting a kid like you over a tree."

For the first time since they left the underground, Frisk was in a fight.


	26. Shielded Tears

Frisk wasn't really expecting to ever be facing another human in a serious fight other than with the bullies at school. With the bullies, Frisk would just dodge their hits and tell them that they wouldn't get anything from beating them up until they stopped. This, however, was a grown man that had probably been to prison judging by his scars, tattoos, and attitude. Adults tended to have much smaller hearts than children, so Frisk knew that talking would do no good. They instead chose to simply dodge and refuse to fight back. The man's punches were slow, but judging by the time it took to wind them up, they would certainly hurt if Frisk was struck by one. "Stop moving, or I'll grind you into the ice!"

Napstablook couldn't stand to watch Frisk thrown into danger because of something he did. He tried talking to the man and saying that he was sorry, but he wouldn't listen. The human was enraged and had to be subdued. As an act of desperation, Napstablook called Mettaton on his phone. His fingers trembled so much that he could hardly dial, but with a little hope, he managed to do it.

A cheerful voice answered the call immediately. "Hello~ Mettaton speaking."

Napstablook quivered helplessly as Frisk slid out of the way of what looked like a potentially fatal hit. "M-Mettaton, help... I... I..."

"Blooky? What's wrong?"

"I-I-I don't know Undyne's number, you have to call her! Frisk is... Mettaton... Pl...Plea..." The stress quickly got to the poor robot and he began hyperventilating. Perhaps making his model as humanlike as possible wasn't Alphys' best idea.

"Calm down, keep Frisk safe! I'll call her right away!"

By the time their call had ended, a small crowd gathered around the fight between a tiny human with a big heart and a large human that lacked any common sense. Anybody that dared to interfere was tossed aside like a crumpled sheet of paper. The man showed no signs of tiring, and Frisk had slipped and fallen so many times that their knees were bleeding through their pants. Napstablook felt more worthless than ever since he couldn't even bring himself to help. He remembered Alphys telling him at one point that he had special defense mechanism that she'd show him how to activate in the future, but he had no idea what it was or how to get it to work. It was as if his own body denied movement, and with nothing else to do, he fell to his knees and pleaded for the man to stop.

Frisk knew that they couldn't win this battle alone, so they used their last resort and ran over to Napstablook and shook him until he looked up at Frisk. Napsta could barely see at that point, as his eyes were clouded by an endless stream of tears. Through the haze, however, he could see the foe towering behind Frisk with his arms raised aggressively. Napstablook knew that this was not the time to feel sorry for himself. In order to protect Frisk, he pushed the small child behind him and stood in his place before the man struck. Napstablook knew that one hit from this behemoth of a human would surely hurt and most likely damage his body, but that didn't matter to him. The only thing on his mind was protecting Frisk, and he put his entire being into that action. When Napstablook most anticipated the hit, nothing happened. He kept his eyes squeezed shut until there was a loud thudding sound followed by and even louder thud that made the ground beneath him shake. Cautiously, he let one of his eyes open. In front of him was some sort of blue translucent blue shield that emanated from Napstablook's heart-shaped core. The crowd around him cheered and clapped for the robot, and Undyne could been seen running towards them in the distance.

With the man incapacitated, the shield vanished and Napsta focused his attention on the bleeding child behind him. "Oh no... you're hurt... I should have done that sooner... Alphys told me I had a defense mechanism... I'm so sorry... Frisk..." Napstablook knelt down and hugged Frisk tightly while crying into the crook of their neck. Frisk hugged back and told him that he did great.

Undyne entered the scene and looked over at the man who was groaning in pain while lying on his back. She then saw Frisk's bloody pants and nearly stomped a hole in the ice. "Is that the guy that gave you problems" Frisk nodded, and before Undyne could go over and flatten his head on the ice, Alphys came running over and told her to stop. "Al, did you see what that guy did to Frisk?! He... uh..." Undyne noticed how tall and fearsome the man looked and then raised her eyebrow suspiciously. "Did YOU do this to him, Frisk?" Frisk shook their head and pointed to the sobbing robot in their arms. "What? THAT guy knocked him out?" Frisk nodded and Alphys sighed in relief.

"N-Napstablook, did you a-actually fight him?" Alphys asked curiously.

Napstablook shook his head slowly. "No... I stood in the way... I made a shield... I think..."

It wasn't long before the rest of the family gathered around Frisk and Napstablook. Toriel went into Mom Mode and patched up Frisk's knees while Mettaton sat next to his cousin and held him close. Papyrus was on the brink of tears because of his injured buddy, and Sans shared Undyne's rage towards Frisk's attacker. An ambulance was called for the man because Napstablook's shield was made of electricity and magic, and therefore, could potentially harm a human. "Who wants to go home and watch cartoons?" Toriel asked the group. Despite their day of fun being cut short, everybody had a really good time at the festival. They all spoke to each other about what they experienced at a normally all-human event. Everyone was smiling and full of joy except for Napstablook, and surprisingly, Mettaton. Napstablook had an obvious reason not to smile, after all, he felt bad about not being there for Frisk. Mettaton, however, was dealing with some internal conflict. He then spoke to Papyrus about something rather serious.

Toriel dropped the two robots off at their home and drove off. Before Mettaton could even wave goodbye, Napstablook had already unlocked the door and made his way up to his room as quickly as possible. This was weird even for Napstablook, so Mettaton ran after him. "Blooky, is something wrong?" Mettaton made his way up the stairs and to Napstablook's room, which contained a new bed that the anxiety-filled robot was laying face down on. Metta sat next to him and poked the back of his knee. "Hey, silly. Do you mind telling me what's wrong?" Napstablook flipped over, nodded, and then resumed burying his face into his gray pillow. He wanted to desperately ask Mettaton a question, but the words wouldn't leave his lips. There was no way that he could go through with Frisk's advice; it was too embarrassing. "If you don't tell me, it'll just get worse. Take my word for it, it's best to talk about your problems."

Napstablook sat up and hugged his knees tightly, being sure to avoid eye contact. Frisk's advice rang in his head before he spoke. "What... am I to you... Mettaton?"

Back at the home of Frisk the human, Frisk, Sans and his brother were all on the couch watching Frisk's favorite TV show. Meanwhile, Papyrus was boasting about how Mettaton became so infatuated with him that he said that they needed space. "I can understand why he doesn't want us to spend time together for a while. After all, if he became obsessed with me to a certain point, he would no longer be able to perform! It would be selfish if such a generous skeleton such as myself got in the way of a celebrity's career. Therefore, the great Papyrus had to break things off. You see, Frisk, sometimes you must do things that you know are best for someone, even if those things are hard."

"So, you dumped him?" Sans asked.

Papyrus nodded. "It was for the greater good! Even if I wasn't the one that first said we needed to be apart... and, even if it was out of the blue..."

"I see. HE dumped YOU."

Papyrus nodded sadly. "Nyoo hoo hoo... dating is hard when people can become so fixated on you.."

Sans patted his brother's back. "It's okay, bro. I'm sure you'll find someone with so much time on their hands that they won't even be bothered by your charms."


	27. Cracked Confession

Mettaton understood his cousin's question clearly, but decided to play dumb simply because he wanted to be absolutely certain of what he heard. "What do you mean, Blooky?" Instinctively, Napstablook curled into a ball and claimed that he never asked anything in the first place. "Don't you dare lie to me. I just want some clarification, that's all."

"It's really selfish... I heard you break up with Papyrus... I thought of something stupid... something that would only benefit _me_... I really am a selfish person, Mettaton..." Napstablook then proceeded to cling onto his pillow and hid as much of his face as he could.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting something, you know." Mettaton patted Napsta on the back and tried to sound optimistic. "I can hug you now that you've got a body. You used to LOVE my hugs, remember?"

Napstablook nodded silently. "I did... It's been a while, though... It'll be really awkward, and-"

"Nonsense!" Mettaton pulled the blue robot into his arms and squeezed him just tight enough to earn himself a gasp. "See? You're fine- Wait a second.." Upon pulling his cousin into the hug, Napstablook somehow activated his invisibility function, rendering him transparent. "Oh.. oh dear. Um, Blooky? You're invisible, darling."

"Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't want you to see me.." Napstablook's body faded back into sight in a rather slow fashion. It started as a soft blur of himself and became progressively sharper in quality. "Better?"

"I don't know why you wouldn't want me to see you. You're my best friend!" Mettaton exclaimed.

Napstablook froze up after hearing Metta's last sentence. He always thought that he was his friend out of pity, but to be a celebrity's _best_ friend? Surely, Mettaton was only saying that to make him feel better. "Am I? Really?"

"Of course you are! You didn't know that? You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember." For once in his afterlife, Napstablook felt overjoyed. There was still a hint of doubt in his mind about Mettaton's motives, but for a second, it didn't matter because someone he regarded so highly in his life turned out to be his best friend. This made him so intoxicated with joy that for the first time since he got his body, a smile crept its way onto Napsta's pale face. When Mettaton saw said smile, his heart nearly melted. Even the burliest of burly men would have found the robot's grin simply adorable beyond words. "Oh my god, you're smiling!"

"I... no, I..." With his pillow no longer in reaching distance, Napstablook compromised and hid his face in Mettaton's chest. It wasn't nearly as soft as the pillow, but it would have to do.

For a while, Napstablook hadn't moved. It was as if his face was glued to Mettaton, and since it _wasn't_ , Mettaton had to ask what he was doing just sitting there."Are you just going to stay here now?"

"...maybe."

Mettaton sighed. "If that's what you want, then I won't stop you."

Meanwhile at Toriel's place, Papyrus was pacing around the kitchen while on the phone with Undyne. "When can we start cooking again, Undyne?" Papyrus asked. "My skills won't get any better on their own!"

Undyne could be heard rifling through a pile of papers while speaking. "Tonight, I'm meeting up with Asgore for a bit. How does tomorrow morning sound?"

"You and the king still hang out?"

More shuffling papers could be heard from the other end of the conversation. "I mean, yeah. We're great friends and he's been a lot more fun to hang around since we got to the surface."

"What is it that you are looking through?" Papyrus asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, just some workout magazines." Unknown by Papyrus, Undyne was actually searching through several fashion articles and was looking for a nice dress to wear on an upcoming date with Alphys.

"I see. Well, I won't hold you up! Call me when we can train again!" As soon as Papyrus had hung up, Frisk came running into the kitchen and hid behind his legs. "Frisk? What are you-" Sans ran into the room shortly after Frisk and chased them in a circle around the table while giggling and smiling happily. "Sans, why are you chasing my friend?"

"We're playin' tag, bro! I'm it!" Sans finally caught up to the tiny human and tapped them on the shoulder before darting out of the kitchen, shouting "YOU'RE it!"

After being tagged, Frisk looked up at Papyrus, smiled mischievously, and then gave his knee a quick tap before running away. "So, you think you can best the great Papyrus in a game of tag, eh? You are mistaken!" Papyrus didn't have to run as fast as the others because of his long legs, so catching up to the two that were camping out on the top of the stairs was easy. The hard part was making any sort of contact with the smaller beings since they could easily scurry out of the way. "Hold still! The great Papyrus mustn't lose!" He was initially focused on tagging Frisk, but Sans was worried that Frisk's cuts would reopen if Papyrus was too rough, so he had to distract his brother.

Sans dashed behind his brother and stood at the edge of the stairs, mocking him. "C'mon, man! You can't even catch a lazybones like me?" Papyrus nearly took offense to Sans' words and switched his focus to his smaller brother. When Papyrus closed in, Sans was going to do a quick teleport behind him and then run into his room, but the plan failed as a simple miscalculation in where his feet were at the time sent the comic tumbling down the stairs rather violently. He landed face-down and hadn't moved an inch since he connected with the carpeted floor. Papyrus snapped out of play-mode as panic filled his being and ran down the stairs as fast as he could to help his brother. When he arrived to his aide, there was a small pool of a red liquid surrounding Sans' head. Papyrus flipped him over to see the damage done and sighed, seeing as it was just a tiny crack. However, since he was unconscious, Papyrus was still struck with a sense of panic.

Frisk came downstairs to see what had happened and felt their stomach churn. The sight of Sans 'bleeding' felt disgustingly familiar and filled them with guilt. Frisk assumed that they felt guilty because Sans was trying to keep them from being caught, but that was only a partial reason. It felt as if they had seen Sans bleed before while it being entirely their fault.

Papyrus rested his brother on the couch and used a pillow to prop his head up. He also used his iconic gloves to clean away the red liquid that was leaking from the crack. As he did this, he noticed that Sans' injury was healing rather quickly and could hardly even be noticed by the time he was done cleaning it. "Frisk, could you throw my gloves into the hamper?" Papyrus asked. "They're soaked in... ketchup." Frisk nodded and took the gloves away, leaving Papyrus alone with his awakening brother. "Sans, can you hear me?"

Light grunting came from the small skeleton on the couch before his eyes opened. "Papyrus?" He attempted to sit up before holding his head in agony and laying back down. "D-damn, my head hurts.."

"Oh, that's because you fell down the stairs and cracked your skull open. But fear not, for it has nearly healed!"

"Heh. Figures. Uh, where's Frisk?"

Toriel came down from her room while carrying Frisk in her arms. She looked rather disgruntled when she saw the stain on the carpet, but her expression softened after seeing Sans on the couch. "Would you boys mind telling me what happened?"


	28. Back Again

"It's my fault, Tori," Sans explained, "We were playing too rough and I fell down the stairs like an idiot. I'll clean up the mess if you wa-"

"Nonsense," she interrupted, setting Frisk down "I am just glad that you are alright. I shall clean it up, Papyrus, could you watch the oven for me?"

"Yes, your highness!" Papyrus ran excitedly into the kitchen and Frisk sat on the couch next to Sans.

Sans sat up, sighed, and stretched his arms over his head, grunting in satisfaction as his bones popped. "Dude, Frisk, I feel drunk right now. How's my head lookin'?" Sans asked. Frisk took a look at the nearly indiscernible crack on Sans' head and told him that it was nearly healed and looked fine. Despite all this, just looking at it made Frisk sick to their stomach. They were hit with a sense of borderline nostalgia when they looked at it, and it wasn't the good kind. "S'good, right? I knew it would be." Sans noticed the look of disgust on the human's face and began wondering what was wrong. "It's okay, kid. Just a crack, these things happen. I'm gonna be fine, I promise."

Without warning, a vague memory flashed in Frisk's mind. In this fuzzy and foggy memory, Sans was bleeding bad from his chest, and Frisk was holding a bloodied knife that glistened in the light of the king's castle hall. Sans was hunched over in pain as he held his wound before saying something about Grillby's and leaving. The hand that held the knife... didn't quite look like Frisk's. It was similar, yes, but it was not theirs. For once, this memory didn't frighten Frisk in the least. If anything, it piqued their interest. Once the memory faded, Frisk wondered if there were any signs of the attack on Sans. Out of curiosity, Frisk lifted up Sans' shirt to check his ribcage. No marks, no cuts, just clean, white bones. With a sigh of relief, Frisk returned Sans' shirt back to its normal position. When they looked up at the skeleton's face, a deep blue was spread across his cheeks and where his nose would be. It was amusing how easily flustered he got.

"Are you feeling okay, Sans?" Toriel asked as she stood up from the freshly cleaned carpet.

"I... yeah, I'm all good."

"Oh good. I am glad that you are not sick."

Sans looked over to the human at his side with a stern expression. "Frisk. What the heck was that all about?" Frisk shrugged, not wanting to worry their friend. "Well, whatever. But I-I've got somethin' to tell ya, whether you believe it or not." The apparently drunken skeleton leaned on Frisk and took a deep breath. "I'm not actually leaking ketchup. It's, uh, not blood, either. Do you know how I can sense when everything has been reset or saved? Do you know how I know about Gaster, the flower, and that demonic human that might have killed us all once before?" Frisk shook their head slowly. "You're not the only one in this house that's filled with Determination."

Papyrus walked into the living room and told Toriel that the oven was fully heated. He then proceeded to wedge himself between Frisk and Sans and wrapped his arms around both of them. "Friends! Would you all like to go sledding today? I saw it on television and it looked like fun! Waddaya say?"

Sans shook his head. "I'm gonna hafta turn your offer down, bro."

"What? Why's that?"

"Whelp. Both Frisk and I are hurt, and sledding is dangerous, right? I don't want _you_ to get hurt too."

Papyrus sighed heavily and stood up. "What are we going to do today, then? Just sit around?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Of course it does, you lazy bum! That's all you ever do. But today, you have an excuse. You actually ran around for over ten seconds, so I'll let that go." Papyrus went upstairs, presumably to make a new video for his channel.

Sans leaned back on the couch and groaned loudly. "Man, I had so much planned today. Now, I can barely lift my head. Heh. That's what I get for trying to have some fun for once." Frisk asked Sans what they meant earlier about someone being filled with Determination. "Oh. Yeah, that red stuff from me is _literally_ liquid determination. I found Gaster's notes on it a while back and used his experiments on myself. Most monsters' physical forms... can't even handle the smallest amount of the stuff. You know, that's because their bodies _are_ their Souls, and monster Souls are really weak and frail. But, Gaster was the royal scientist for a good reason. Even though he's dead, he's living on because of Determination. He could even come back if someone screwed up." Frisk tilted their head in confusion. "What? Oh, I should have explained that he used Determination on himself and that might be why Papyrus and I have a tolerance to its melting properties. That's probably also why with enough effort, he could be revived." Sans laughed before continuing. "Or maybe I was hit on the head a little too hard. I dunno. Believe what you want, I'm taking a nap." And like that, Sans was fast asleep.

There was a moment in time where Frisk felt as if someone was trying to speak to them. They looked around the room, saw that nobody was there, and then shrugged it off before going into the kitchen to help Toreil out with whatever she as cooking. "Oh, hello, Frisk! If you are here to help me cook, I am afraid that you are too late. The chicken is already in the oven. But if you would like to come with me to read a book until it is ready, you are more than welcome." Frisk nodded happily and took Toriel's hand as she walked them to her chair. Toriel picked up a thin book with a sweet looking mouse on the front, placed Frisk in her lap, and began reading. "Once upon a time, there was a little boy. He lived with his mother and father, who loved him very much and bought him many, many, toys, including a stuffed mouse. The boy loved this mouse more than any other toy." Toriel showed Frisk the pictures in the book that included the boy with his parents, his room, and his toy mouse. Frisk got curious about the family they saw and asked Toriel who their dad was since Toriel was their mother. "Oh... Frisk, sweetheart... not all little boys and girls have both parents. But, this does not make you any less of a person. I love you very much, Frisk." Frisk told Toriel that they loved her too. "You are such a sweet child. Now, let us finish the story."

As Toriel read the rest of the story to Frisk, the child could have sworn that they heard someone speaking to them. This time, it was more clear, but Frisk was still unsure of what it was saying to them.

"Somethin' burnin, Tori?" Sans asked lazily.

"Oh my. I have to check on something, Frisk." Toriel sat the small child on her chair and then went into the kitchen to pull the chicken out of the oven.

"Psst. Frisk," Sans called from his seat, "C'mere. I gotta tell ya somethin." Frisk carefully removed themself from Toriel's giant seat and then plopped down next to the drowsy skeleton. "You see them too, right? The kid that killed me in another timeline? Can you at least hear them talking?"


	29. Last Reset

Frisk was taken aback by Sans' words. They had just been brushing off the sounds as hearing their own thoughts and overactive imagination, but it was clear that they were really there. "Heh. Judging by the look on your face, I must be right. That Chara kid must be pissed. Do you have any plans on how to get rid of them, or why they're here?" Frisk clenched their jaw and debated on whether or not they should tell him why Chara still persisted after death. "Frisk. Look at me. Did you or did you not reset and kill everyone at least once?" Frisk couldn't honestly answer Sans' question. They had distant memories of killing a lot of things, but none of them seemed real. They could remember every reset and every action they took during each reset, but they couldn't recall having no mercy towards every little thing they encountered. Yet, they felt as if they did something wrong in another time out of curiosity.

Toriel walked back into the room just in time to save Frisk from having to answer the question. "Nothing was burning, Sans. It is not even halfway finished cooking."

"Oops. My bad."

Toriel eyeballed the two before smiling brightly. "I see. You just wanted to spend time with Frisk."

The skeleton nodded and put his arm around the child. "You caught me. I thought we could have a heart-to-heart."

"In that case, I shall not interrupt you." The motherly monster sat down in her chair and picked up a thick book with no picture on the cover and began reading it silently.

"Frisk. I've got a secret to tell you," Sans said quietly. Frisk leaned close to the skeleton and allowed him to whisper into their ear. "I can tell how many times you've died. I know how many times you've reset. I know that you... that you..." The skeleton's somewhat drunken demeanor was replaced with a dark, depressing attitude that resulted in tears being shed. "You're... just going to reset this all, aren't you? Frisk, I can't take it!" The bright blue tears that fell from Sans' eyes had drenched Frisk's shoulder and were accompanied by loud sobbing. "If you're gonna reset, just do it already! It's too much... I wasn't ready for the responsibility... It's all Gaster's damn fault! I wish I didn't even have Determination! I just want to forget!" Toriel came to see what the commotion was about, but Sans was unconsolable. He refused to listen and just continued to talk as his cries got louder and louder, causing Papyrus to run downstairs. "I keep expecting to wake up back in Snowdin... I keep expecting this to all be a dream... I can't do this anymore, goddammit!"

It wasn't Frisk's fault that they decided to reset. When they first fell down, it was just a game to them and Sans was just another character within the game. That's what it was like at first, anyway. Over time, everyone seemed like actual people that they cared about. Once this was realised, Frisk just wanted everyone to be happy. They knew that they deserved it.

Frisk hugged Sans tightly and assured him that they would never, EVER reset again. They promised that he would always wake up in his new home. They promised that he would live a long, happy life with his brother. They promised that he would be happy.

Papyrus tapped Toriel on the shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked. Toriel shrugged and patted Sans on the back as Papyrus attempted to give him words of encouragement.

Sans stopped panicking after a few minutes and sat up straight to look Frisk in the eye as he wiped tears from his face. "You really mean that, kiddo?" Frisk nodded, trying to hide the pain that they were in. For some reason, after making Sans feel better, the child had developed a splitting headache. "Of course you mean it. I... I'm sorry, kid. I know who you are by now. You wouldn't just build your way up to this and then take it all away; not after over a year."

"Sans, why is the human soaked in your tears?" Papyrus asked quickly.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Uh, Tori, won't dinner be done soon?"

It took a while for Sans to convince everyone that he was fine. After all, he was bawling not too long ago, and crying was something Sans never really did in front of others. But, with a few bad jokes and happy smiles, everyone was satisfied. Once all was said and done, dinner actually _was_ finished and everyone hurried to the kitchen as Toriel set the table. The baked chicken she made was fantastic, despite her making it every month, sometimes twice.

Like always, Frisk ate as much of their food as they could since they did not like to waste things. This was made difficult by the headache they had that kept coming back in waves. It stopped for a minute and then came back with a more fierce intensity. At around the third time the headache came back, Frisk could hear a strange voice trying to speak to them. The words sounded distorted, but a few recognisable ones were, 'acting,''happy,' and 'murder'. Frisk's eyes then glanced at the knife they were given to cut their chicken up with. The voice spoke again, clearly saying, 'do it'. Frisk couldn't deny that it was Chara speaking to them in a telepathic manner.

"Do you remember? I have your Soul," Chara said in an echoing voice that rang throughout Frisk's head. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Since I got your Soul. You have been fighting me off for quite some time." Frisk put their fork down and politely asked to be excused. "You really don't remember? Would you like me to remind you?" Images of monsters dying were flashed in Frisk's mind. There were random monsters that Frisk had encountered before, and then there was Frisk's friends and family. Toriel was cut along her side and face, Papyrus was decapitated, Undyne put up a hell of a fight before melting, Mettaton died almost instantly, and Sans had put up the toughest fight before dying out of their line of vision. The images were sadistic and emphasised on the lack of emotion Frisk had while killing each person. It almost seemed as if they enjoyed killing them.

"Are you not feeling well, my child?" Toriel asked Frisk.

Frisk nodded and went to stand before nearly falling to their knees. Papyrus caught them quickly before they made contact with the ground. "I think Frisk is ill again," Papyrus told Toriel.

"I climbed that mountain to kill everyone beneath it," Chara explained. "But then I found that kid Asriel and his parents. When I found out about Souls and what Boss Monsters could do, I made them all love me. I made Asriel my best friend." Frisk shook their head to try and disperse the voice stuck within it. They knew what happened, but they didn't want to hear it. "I made myself sick. I killed myself so Asriel would absorb my Soul and leave the barrier. I wanted to destroy everything with my power, but Asriel stopped me. He carried my body back to his home and then died like the useless being that he was and still is."

"Frisk! Please, wake up!" Papyrus shouted at the paralyzed human in his arms. "Open your eyes! Toriel is going to cry if you remain this way."

"When you got curious and 'accidentally' killed Toriel, I came back without a Soul. That LV you gained? That was me awakening in your Soul. All that LOVE just made me stronger and stronger until you handed over your Soul and erased this world."

Toriel and Sans knelt by Frisk and attempted to awaken them in any way that they could. Frisk couldn't move even if they tried, and in a similar fashion to their nightmare of falling into darkness, their entire body began to ache. Papyrus' touch put them in so much agony that tears began to stream from their closed eyes.

"I have to thank you for waking me up. I can at last give Asriel his final death, along with every monster and human in this wretched world."

All three monsters began to panic. Toriel couldn't stop sobbing if her life depended on it, Papyrus desperately clutched to Frisk's lifeless body and begged them to wake up, and Sans was able to stay calm enough to call a nearby hospital.

"And now... **you're stuck with me until you die.** "

Frisk refused to give in to Chara's twisted ideals. Just like when they were falling into the black abyss, they kept hope. They kept on dreaming. They remained determined, no matter how bad everything was hurting. No matter what, they would protect everyone.

"Oh. You're refusing me? That's fine. You can't stay in control forever. I'll break you eventually."


	30. Completely Honest

Frisk soon lost contact with the physical world and was back in the endless abyss that was void of everything but darkness. The only difference this time was that they were no longer in pain, and they could clearly hear Chara speaking to them. Their words were not kind, to say the least. They kept rambling on and on about how nothing matters since everything is going to die one day no matter what. Chara was trying to convince Frisk to cut everyone's lives short, thus sparing them from a lifetime of suffering. Since Frisk was still Frisk, they did their best to ignore Chara. To keep their words from getting to them, Frisk just imagined that they were Undyne and kept a firm, one-track mind that couldn't be budged. This behaviour proved to be quite effective, because after a while, it appeared that Chara had given up. Either that, or Frisk got the hang of tuning people out. Soon enough, the void became silent once more.

Slowly but surely, Frisk could feel themself waking up. From what they could see, they were in a mostly white room and were laying on a mostly white bed. Once their vision cleared, they could see that they were in your average hospital room with generic paintings on the walls and a tiny television in the corner. Frisk sat up and looked around. It seemed as though they were the only person in the room at the moment. Not wanting to be there any longer because of how uncomfortable hospitals felt to them, Frisk got up from the bed and made their way to the door. They stopped when they heard a familiar voice just beyond the exit and eavesdropped.

"Doctor, is my child going to be all right?" Toriel asked in a hushed voice.

It sounded as if someone was flipping papers outside the door before a man spoke. Frisk assumed that this man was the doctor. "Miss Dreemurr, it appears that Frisk may not be physically sick after all. We found nothing wrong with them, and yet, they still had this... episode. I believe that they might have a case of severe schizophrenia, and there is no known cure for this mental illness."

The next for words that left Toriel's mouth sounded rather irritated. "What makes you think they have schizophrenia?"

"You said it yourself that Frisk does not talk much. In fact, from what their friend Sans said, Frisk only speaks when it is absolutely necessary. Children their age should be talking your ear off, and yet Frisk barely says a word. More common symptoms are hallucinations and hearing voices that aren't there. From what you told me on the ride here, they were talking to someone that was not in the vehicle."

"Frisk _does_ have an overactive imagination, doctor. A-and, they just do not like speaking. They never have."

"Miss Dreemurr, they could be incredibly sick. If we don't take action now, it could affect them for the rest of their lives."

A voice came from behind Frisk, distracting them from the rest of the conversation. "They think that you are insane. Is this what you really want?" Frisk turned around and their heart nearly imploded at the sight of Chara standing before them. Their face had a twisted grin on it and their eyes glowed a demonic red. The green and yellow striped shirt they wore was blood-spattered and they held a sharp knife in their hand. "I'm more real than you could ever imagine. I am God."

Frisk could hear the door to the room open, and they spun around quickly to face the tall doctor in a white labcoat. "Oh, I'm glad that you are up. I wanted to ask you some questions before sending you home. Could you sit on the bed for me?" Frisk nodded and climbed back onto the bed and sat on it with their legs hanging off the side. The doctor pulled up a chair and sat in front of them while holding a clipboard and a pen. "How are you feeling, Frisk?" he asked in a soft tone. Frisk was suspicious of the man off the bat and didn't trust him very much. However, since they could see Toriel on the other side of the door, they cooperated with the man and gave a simple shrug. Just from that small movement, the doctor scribbled furiously on his clipboard. Frisk attempted to see what he was writing, but his handwriting was even worse than Alphys'. "Do you remember how you got here?" Frisk told the doctor that they arrived there in an ambulance, and this made him chuckle. "Of course. That was a silly question. But now, I would like to ask you something that I hope you'll answer honestly. Can you do that for me?" Frisk nodded slowly and the doctor wrote more things down. "Do you have an imaginary friend that you talk to? Or, perhaps, a friend that only you can see or hear?"

Chara appeared again and was standing behind the doctor. "Why not tell him about me? You'll be locked up in an institution for the rest of your life. That way, you won't hurt anymore people. That is what you want, right?"

Frisk shook their head and denied any more questions the doctor had about seeing or hearing things that weren't real. Frisk had to flat out lie to someone, and it really didn't feel good. They told themself that it was for the best, but that barely helped their conscience grow any lighter. In fact, lying to themself just made things worse and gave them a stomach ache.

Eventually, Toriel and Frisk left the place and went home. Toriel asked Frisk if they were feeling any better, and Frisk nodded happily. Chara had stopped popping up around them and they didn't feel like they were going to fall over any more.

Upon their arrival home, Undyne was wrestling with Papyrus in the living room. She had the skeleton pinned down firmly to the floor, but as soon as she saw Frisk, Undyne ceased her assault on the poor monster and rushed in to give Frisk a hug. "Dude! You had Papyrus so worried that he started crying!" Undyne stated.

"I was only crying because my cool friend was sick!" Papyrus joined in on the hugging with Undyne and started crying again. "I'm so glad you're not hurt!"

Sans... appeared...? in the living room and contributed to the group hug, as did Toriel once everyone else had settled into it. The feeling of everyone's arms around them filled Frisk with determination... and something else. The only reason everyone was so worried was because they didn't know what was going on. It was like Frisk had been lying from the very beginning, and they knew that this could go on no longer. After all, keeping secrets would only things worse, wouldn't it? Frisk knew that it was time to stop hiding the truth. It was time to stop pretending to be so innocent.

Frisk carefully removed themself from the hug and stood before the majority of their family. They took a deep breath, tried to look confident, and explained what they did in their most recent reset. Everyone they killed, every time they died, every dream they broke... they confessed it all in such detail that even Toriel understood what had happened. Every word uttered made them resent themself more and more, but they couldn't stop. Frisk told Toriel about Chara and what they really were. They told Sans that they really did kill him and his brother just to see what would happen, and that Chara had partial control over their Soul because of it. They told Undyne that they murdered everything they came across just because they could. They had to confess every little thing, even if it made them cry.

Last, but not least, with tears in their eyes and a heavy heart, they told everyone who and what Flowey was.


	31. Merciful Family

Frisk remained motionless with their head hung low as they used their sleeves to wipe away at the endless stream of tears that trickled onto the floor. Every single cell that composed Frisk's body was telling them to go to their room and hide forever. They didn't want to have to see their family's face after what they just said. They felt like death would be a better option opposed to facing their sins. Everything felt heavy and foggy, and Frisk was flat out disgusted with themselves. By lying, they had become something that they really didn't approve of. By telling the truth, they had only made things more tense within the household. No matter what they did, Frisk was going to wind up feeling terrible.

Out of the horrifying silence that befell the room, Toriel was the first to speak up. Her voice quivered as if she was crying. "A-Asriel... no longer has a soul. Is that why Flowey is..?"

Frisk nodded stiffly before Sans got his voice out. "The important thing is that you were honest with us. Granted, it took ya a whole year to say anything, but you did it." The stout skeleton walked up to the trembling child and raised his hand. Frisk anticipated a powerful attack, so they stood their ground and clenched their jaw. Rather than being struck, however, Frisk's hair was ruffled gently. "If you can forgive the flower and Asriel for killing you over and over again, I think I can forgive you for killing us and then making things right. I'm proud of you, squirt."

"I am proud of the human as well!" Papyrus declared. "You went down a very dangerous path in life, and yet here you are, living with the beings you once slayed and considering them your family." Papyrus knelt by the slightly comforted human and wrapped his arms around them. "The fact that you turned it all around and gave me this WONDERFUL life... that truly is a fantastic puzzle solution."

"You got past ME and you _still_ chose to be a little wimp?" Undyne asked. "Even after going on a murderous rampage, you're still a dweeb!"

"You really are a good child, Frisk," Toriel added.

A few more words were shared, and Sans called up Alphys and had her take the flower home to get started on a surprise for Toriel. Undyne went with her just in case Flowey tried to pull anything, and that left the skeletons, Frisk's mother, and the human themself at the house. The small group of four did their best to cheer up the still shaken and still crying Frisk. Eventually, the child wound up falling asleep in Toriel's arms, as they appeared to have exhausted themself. After such a long day, Toriel didn't want to let them go. She held onto Frisk and allowed them to sleep in her arms until the sun came up the next morning. Granted, she wasn't the most comfortable sleeping in her chair all night, but she didn't want to leave Frisk.

Everything seemed back to normal the next day. Papyrus went to go training with Undyne, Toriel was helping Frisk learn their times tables, and Sans was busy texting someone for well over an hour. It was almost like the previous day never happened, except that Frisk felt all of their sins drift away. Despite almost nothing changing, the small child felt like a person that had been given a second chance at life.

"Heya, Tori. Can I take the kid on a walk with me real quick?" Sans asked as he strolled into the kitchen.

"I suppose you may. Do you want to go with Sans, Frisk?" The child nodded and took ahold of Sans' hand after putting on their coat. When they stepped outside, the two noticed that it wasn't as cold as the previous day, nor was it as windy. It was a lovely winter day that had perfect snowball weather.

Sans was mostly quiet during the walk. He never told Frisk where they were going or why they were going there, but it was always nice to spend time with Sans. To Frisk, he was like an older, adopted brother with a weird sense of humor and a job that paid well but most likely wasn't legal.

The more the two walked together, the harder Sans gripped onto Frisk's tiny hand. And, the further they walked, the better of an idea Frisk had about where they were going. They remembered walking down the dark, gloomy streets with Papyrus a while ago. It appeared as if the two were headed towards Napstablook/Mettaton's house, and Sans looked more and more agitated the closer they got to the place. Frisk finally worked up the courage to ask him what was wrong, and they didn't get a direct response. "I just need to talk to Mettaton about some things. He broke something very dear to me, so _I'm_ going to break something he cherishes." Frisk tugged on Sans' hand and pleaded for him not to hurt anyone. "Relax. I'm just going to talk, and if things don't work out..." Sans paused to wink at Frisk. "I'll steal his legs."

At last, the two reached their destination. Sans knocked on the door and requested Frisk to stay outside for a moment. They hesitated, but had a feeling that it was for the best. Mettaton answered the door and instant fear could be seen in his eyes. Instead of jumping around his fears like your average person, the robot faced them head-on and invited Sans into his home. Frisk stayed put like they were told to do so, but they soon had a feeling that they should have gone inside as Chara appeared from the corner of Frisk's eye. "You understand that they are lying to you, yes? They never _really_ forgave you," Chara explained. "They are afraid of you, Frisk. Why else would they be so nice to such a monster? A psychopath such as yourself with the twisted, perverted ideals that you have will never be truly forgiven." Chara continued to heckle Frisk for the longest five minutes known to man. Their words meant less and less to Frisk, but they still stung.

Soon enough, Sans left the house and quickly shut the door behind him. Something about the skeleton seemed off; his eyes were empty, he appeared to be sweating, and he was blushing heavily. Frisk couldn't even ask what was wrong before he grabbed their hand and quickly began walking home silently. What happened in the five minutes that he was gone? This was the question that Frisk asked Sans, and once again, they did not receive a direct response. "I've seen some things, Frisk. I just wanna go home." This time, Frisk wasn't going to accept an answer like that. They asked what he meant by that, and Sans stopped dead in his tracks. "You're, uh... not old enough for me to tell you. Just trust me on this, okay?" Frisk huffed childishly and puffed their cheeks out. "Aw, don't gimme that face. Do you wanna ride in my coat like a kangaroo until we get home?" Frisk couldn't stay mad at Sans after that offer. They nodded, and Sans scooped them up and stuffed them into his coat, zipping it up just enough for their head to poke out the front. "Let's head home before Tori worries, m'kay?"

Right before Sans entered the house, he had a plan. He told Frisk to hide the rest of themself in his coat so that he could play a prank on Papyrus. Frisk agreed with the idea and ducked down further into the jacket so that Sans could zip it all the way up. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but it would have to do.

As soon as Sans walked through the door, Papyrus ran up to his brother and immediately began to boast about his day. "Sans! I had fun training with Undyne today and I completely mastered my blue attack!"

"That's cool, bro. Why don't you show me?" Sans suggested.

"Then show you I shall!" Papyrus used his special attack to make Sans blue and then lifted him into the air. "Do you see? I can make you float now!"

"That's great, man. But, couldja come here? I've got somethin to show you."

Papyrus took a few steps towards his brother, and Frisk could clearly see his face through the coat's zipper. "Yes? What is it?" Frisk took this opportunity to pop out at the taller skeleton, causing them to shriek and reel back before Frisk fell out of the jacket. They would have landed on their head if Papyrus hadn't used his special attack on tem right before they hit the ground. "Human, why have you forsaken me?! I do not like it when things jump out at me!"

"Relax, it was my idea."

"I should have known... you two are weird! I'm going to my room."

Sans patted Frisk on the back and smiled happily at them. "Great job. Now, all we do now is wait." Frisk tilted their head slightly and asked Sans what he meant by that. "Don't you know? Alphys is gonna bring Asriel back."


	32. Liquid Solution

[ **Author's Note** : Help, I ship the sexy robot with the small skeleton. Mother didn't raise me this way.]

Frisk woke up bright and early on a chilly Sunday morning. They rolled over on their side and drowsily cracked their eyes open. Like every morning, Chara was there to 'greet' them, but it looked like Chara wasn't the only one in the room at the moment. In the back corner by a dresser was a black, blob-like figure with a white face and a pair of hands that appeared to float around the center of the being's body. After staring at it for a solid thirty seconds to determine whether or not they were just seeing things, Chara asked Frisk, "Who the hell is that?" Of course, Frisk ignored the child and went to investigate the entity themself. Seeing as Chara could see it, the entity must have been real. However, as soon as they got close enough to tell whom it was, it vanished instantly without fading or leaving any sort of sign that it was there in the first place. Frisk identified the being as Gaster, seeing as it had his face. But, Gaster was dead, so this raised a lot more questions than it should have.

Not wanting any more to do with whatever just happened, Frisk went downstairs to eat some breakfast with Papyrus and Sans. They picked out a box of chocolate cereal and poured themself a nice big bowl to eat. During the entirety of their meal, Papyrus had this smug look on his face every time he looked over at his brother. Frisk wondered what this was all about until Sans chugged his bottle ketchup. After drinking about half of the bottle, he began coughing and gagging before rushing over to the fridge and drinking a carton of milk so fast that he quite literally _inhaled_ the milk. "Japed by the great Papyrus! For you see, I mixed your ketchup with hot sauce! Nyeh heh heh!" Sans leaned on the fridge, breathing heavily while wiping his mouth clean of the burning sauce and lowfat milk. He tried to muster a smile before speaking, but he began coughing into his sleeve. "Oh my... Brother, are you alright? Do you need assistance? I did not prank you too hard, did I?"

Sans wheezed out a shaky laugh before finally speaking. "Nice one, bro. I'm fine, I just wasn't expecting that." He stood up straight and looked his brother directly in the eyes. "I hope you don't feel bad for what you did, because I'm gonna get you back ten times harder."

After eating, Frisk pondered the thought of telling Sans about what they saw. The child then discarded the thought since Sans had been under a lot of stress recently. He would leave the house for hours at a time and come back with what could only be described as bruises around his jawline. Then, he would lock himself in his room for the rest of the day and would rarely answer the door. Toriel and Sans also appeared to grow distant, and this could no doubt be causing Sans some sort of stress. Instead of telling Sans, Frisk thought that telling Alphys would be a much better idea. After all, it would be a great excuse to go see her progress on Flowey's condition.

While the two skeletons were distracted, Frisk slipped on their coat and shoes and went next door to Alphys and Undyne's place. They knocked firmly on the door, and just as they expected, Alphys answered. "H-hey, Frisk. It's kinda early to play, isn't it?" Frisk shook their head and asked to come inside to see Flowey. "Oh, s-sure. He's on my desk near the computer." Frisk skipped happily to the flower, who was surrounded by a variety of poorly written notes and scrap paper.

"Are you here to make fun of me?" Flowey asked. "It's not going to work, I have no humility left after being here for so long." Frisk shook their head and told Flowey about Chara and how Alphys was going to give Flowey their old form back. "C-Chara's really here with you? Will I get to see them when I get a Soul?" Just to make Flowey happy, Frisk nodded. This made the plant wear a genuine smile for once. Frisk thought that by telling him, he'd be more cooperative with Alphys' experiments.

"Did you j-just want to talk to him?" Alphys asked Frisk. The child shook their head slowly and told Alphys that they saw a very deformed Gaster in their room this morning. This made Alphys shake uncontrollably. "Oh no... h-he must be coming back! Frisk, Papyrus killed him, but he still had Determination in his system. I-I don't know what he did, but he might be re-materialising into the physical world." Alphys scrambled to her desk and shuffled through a large amount of unorganized papers until the noise she made caused Undyne to enter the room.

"Hi, Frisk. Morning, Al. What's with all the noise?"

"Undyne! So sorry for waking you. There's a bit of a problem back at Frisk's house and-"

Undyne knelt down in front of Frisk and spoke in a completely serious tone. "Do I need to kill someone for you?"

"U-Undyne, it's not that kind of problem!"

"If you say so." She stood up and went to the kitchen for breakfast, calling Alphys a nerd in the process. Alphys told Frisk to go home and explain everything to Sans. They nodded and left quietly, shutting the door behind them.

There was a brief moment of blissful ignorance that Frisk felt before reality crumbled down onto them and their dreams. If Gaster was indeed coming back, what did that mean for Papyrus and Sans? Wouldn't they start dying again? This was not something Frisk could allow. To them, Gaster was a threat to their family and needed to be stopped at all and any costs. Maybe this was just Chara speaking, but if Sans would want to kill Gaster after finding out about him coming back, Frisk would not interfere.

As soon as Frisk got home, their eyes were graced with the sight of an immobile black blob with Gaster's face and a pair of hands on its... torso? Papyrus, Sans and Toriel were trying to talk to it, but the being didn't make a single sound. Instead, it used ASL (American Sign Language), which Frisk could understand perfectly because of their refusal to speak until they met Toriel. At this point, it was obviously Gaster because he kept signing his name over and over again. It looked like nobody other than Frisk could understand what he was trying to convey, so Frisk walked up to him and translated for everybody.

"What do you mean this is Gaster?!" Papyrus asked the human. "He's dead!"

"And if he's alive..." Sans added, "we're going to have to die, aren't we? I'm not letting that happen. I'll kill you myself if you don't fix this."

Gaster looked over to Frisk and quickly signed, "D-O-N-T H-U-R-T M-E T-H-E-Y W-I-L-L L-I-V-E" Frisk translated for their family, but nobody really believed him.

Sans cracked his knuckls before speaking. "Why should we believe you?"

"I C-A-N H-E-L-P" Again, Frisk translated his signs for everyone.

"Help with what?" Toriel asked.

"A-S-R-I-E-L-S S-O-U-L"


	33. Borrowed Souls

Papyrus, Sans, and Toriel watched in confusion as Gaster's odd gestures were easily translated by the small child. However, the more the skeleton signed, the more complex his signs became. After a few minutes of attempting to translate for Gaster, Frisk soon realised that some of the words he was using were much too big for them to understand, and others they didn't know at all. This proved to be quite frustrating for the child, so they instead found a pen and a sheet of paper for Gaster to write his thoughts on. He thanked Frisk before writing frantically on the paper for a solid three minutes and then handed it to Sans, who then read it aloud.

"'You all mustn't concern yourselves with my presence. I am here to help with a rather unusual problem that has an oddly simple solution.' Gee, Gaster. Your handwriting's atrocious." Gaster made a displeased face at Sans. "I'm just sayin'. Where was I? Oh, right... 'I understand that the flower is a mere empty shell of his former self, correct? This is because the being lacks a soul. While this specific being was once dead, it now lives without compassion. I believe that this is unacceptable. From what I understand, his life was cut short; much shorter than my own life, I may add. While I died for my research, he died trying to redeem the life of a sibling. If I may, I would like to strike a deal with Dr. Alphys. You see, if I live, Papyrus and his brother will die. So, why not put my soul to good use and give it to the flower? It would be a waste if I died again without making some sort of positive impact on the world. If this is not done within the next day or two, the brothers will die and the flower will remain an empty vessel. Please, put my soul to good use. For once I would like to help someone other than myself.' That's... heavy, Gaster."

"Would your soul really be able to bring Asriel back?" Toriel asked Gaster.

Sans pulled up his left sleeve to reveal his new watch and began texting on it. "Alphys will know, won't she? I'm texting her the info right now."

While all of this was going on, the most talkative of the group hadn't uttered a single word. Papyrus just stood near his brother and had his eyes trained on Gaster. He didn't have the most pleasant look on his face, either. He looked really confused and somewhat upset, which wasn't normal at all for the great Papyrus. Of course, he killed the guy that stood before him not too long ago, so it was understandable for Papyrus to be a bit off.

Soon enough, Sans was informed by Alphys to bring Gaster over. Frisk wondered how he was going to get over to Alphys' house without having any sort of discernable legs. That was until he vanished in a similar fashion to before and shriek erupted from the house next door. It seemed like Gaster teleported over to the scientist's house. Frisk also figured out where Sans got his teleportation abilities from.

By the time the group got over to Alphys' home, Undyne was seconds away from murdering the teleporting blob of a skeleton. From the sounds of her shouts, Frisk could tell that he entered the home at a bad time. It looked like the girls were doing something romantic before he got there, what with the flowers and cheesy romance anime displayed on the television.

"U-Undyne, please don't hurt him,"Alphys pleaded. "I n-need him to fix Flowey!"

Undyne lowered her fists and looked over at Frisk's family. She looked back at Alphys and frowned. "How can this pile of yuck help that weird plant?"

"B-because he offered... I mean, he's gonna... He wants to sacrifice his Soul so that Flowey can be himself again."

"Uhh... okay. How's that gonna work?"

"Just... everyone follow me down to the basement." Alphys grabbed the potted plant and opened the sliding door to the basement, leading everyone down with her.

Frisk felt incredibly uncomfortable as they traversed the dark, eerie halls. It reminded them too much of the True Lab, and they thought for sure that Lemon Bread would pop out at any moment. What made it the most unsettling was the fact that Chara was nowhere to be seen. They'd normally make Frisk's life a living Hell whenever they felt uneasy, but this time, Frisk couldn't even sense their presence. It felt... wrong.

After passing by a few rooms, Alphys stopped in front of a large, metal cylinder that appeared to be made of oxidized copper, metal tubes, and large screws. The cylinder had no discernable door, no switches or even a window to the inside of it, but there was some sort of control panel next to it with a large variety of buttons, flips, and switches. "Th-this is it, guys." Alphys stated. "I didn't have time to properly name it, s-so, I'll just call it the Soul Converter."

"How does it work?" Toriel asked.

"It's really simple," Alphys handed Sans the flower and went over to the control panel and pressed a couple buttons, causing the front of the machine to open up like an elevator door. The inside was pure white and looked endless because of the lack of any kind of marks or color. "I made it so that it senses emptiness. When a soul and a vessel that can contain a soul are p-present in the machine, it will take the soul, melt it down, and move it to the vessel. It m-more or less evens out whatever is inside of it." She looked over at Gaster and tried to hold an optimistic smile. "The only problem is that it's only been tested on... animals, and I'n n-not sure if it'll hurt or not."

Gaster looked over to Frisk and signed, "D-O I J-U-S-T G-E-T I-N I-T W-I-T-H T-H-E P-L-A-N-T," and Frisk told Alphys what he asked.

"W-well... yes, but, are you sure you want to do this?"

"If he doesn't, Papyrus and I will die and the flower will just be an empty little jerk." Sans said.

Flowey looked up at Sans and made a creepy face. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A JERK, YOU LAZY SADIST?"

To prevent any further arguments, Alphys snatched the plant away from Sans and placed him inside the machine. "That's enough from you." She turned around to face Gaster. "Um... any time you're ready, I guess.." Gaster waved farewell to his creations, Frisk, Toriel, Sans, and Undyne. Alphys then directed everyone to head upstairs because of how dangerous things could get. She was even able to convince Undyne to go with everyone. The group felt uneasy, and Frisk could see that Toriel was shaking. In an attempt to comfort her, Frisk grabbed their mother's hand. This made Toriel smile and calm down just a bit.

It only took about ten minutes worth of waiting for the process downstairs to be complete, and Toriel was a complete mess in that amount of time. Frisk wasn't old enough to really understand what she was going through, but because of how empathetic they were, Frisk could feel her anxiety as if it were a living thing in the room. Sans did his best to try and console the boss monster, but she didn't seem very accepting of his comforts. For once, Toriel was very distant. She barely spoke, and when she was spoken to, she pulled a Frisk and would simply nod or make very plain gestures.

Finally, the basement door opened ever so slowly. Alphys exited the room with a small bundle in her arms that was wrapped in a fluffy, green blanket. She carefully made her way up to Toriel with a bright smile on her yellow face. Toriel looked at what she had in her arms as she removed the blanket. It was then that Toriel was finally able to cry, for under the fabric was a small, white monster that was fast asleep in Alphys' arms.


	34. Recruiting Love

[ **Author's Note** : Please excuse my lack of updates. Stuff came up at home along with my undying rage towards a certain boss that I cannot beat. So, uh, don't worry. If I was gonna stop writing, I'd let you guys know.]

Toriel held the bundle of fluff in her arms for an amazingly long period of time. From what Frisk could tell, Asriel was breathing and twitching slightly at his mother's movements in his sleep. It had been so long since was held. It had been so long since he could feel his arms and legs.

It had been so long since he felt anything at all.

Finally, Asriel started to open his eyes. The boy took one look at his mother and tears began to run down his face. "I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" he asked.

"No, you are not," Toriel assured. "You are finally back where you belong, my child."

More tears were shed between the two as the rest of Asriel's new family watched with smiles on their faces. Alphys looked almost as happy as Toriel, because for once, she did something right. She made someone happy. She fixed something without hurting anyone. This gave Alphys almost enough confidence to give Undyne a celebratory kiss, but Alphys was still Alphys and decided that just thinking about it was good enough.

Asriel clung to his mother and told her how much he loved her. It felt amazing to be able to love someone again, although, there was just one thing missing. "Where's Daddy?"

Toriel cringed ever so slightly at the thought of seeing Asgore again, but she couldn't deny her son the right to see his father. "Mommy and Daddy... do not live together anymore. However, I could get my very sweet friend Undyne to bring him over."

"Hmm?" Undyne looked up at Toriel after hearing her name and nodded before making her way towards the door. "I'll bring him right over. See ya soon!"

It wasn't long before Toriel was comfortable with letting her son walk around the house on his own two feet. He tripped a few times because of a lack of practice, but Asriel was a natural in no time at all. Watching him walk around made everyone in the room squeal at how cute he was with his long, floppy ears, tiny paws, fluffy tail, and the soft pattering sounds of his feet on the floor. He was the perfect embodiment of a sentient, anthropomorphic puppy that had just learned to walk, and it was absolutely precious.

Naturally, Alphys was taking notes on his condition. She wrote down, in detail, how he walked, talked, moved about, and how he felt both physically and mentally. Alphys stopped once she received an urgent text about something failing with Napstablook's new body, so she had to leave. She did, however, inform Toriel to keep Asriel at her place until she got back. Alphys also told Sans and Papyrus that they could leave at any time, but they were too preoccupied with the tiny monster child.

Frisk sat silently next to Toriel as she watched and talked to her son. They felt something fester in the pit of their stomach that they didn't like, but they couldn't quite place their finger on what it was. The feeling got worse when they saw how happy everyone was with Asriel, and then Chara decided to open their mouth.

"That look on your face. That expression. I know it all too well, partner. You're jealous, are you not?"

Frisk ignored the evil being that was trapped within their mind. If ANYTHING was going to upset Frisk, it certainly wouldn't be jealousy. Not from Chara, anyway.

"You brought this upon yourself. However... if you were to do something rather... drastic... all of this attention could be on you. Not in a positive sense, but you like attention no matter what form it is in. Am I wrong? Of course I'm not. I know everything there is to know about you, Frisk."

Asriel waddled up to the seemingly daydreaming Frisk, sat next to them, and wrapped his arms around them. "Frisk, I... thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me!"

Frisk hugged back, causing Asriel to cry again. He felt so warm and full of life. Getting a second hug from him was one of the best feelings in the world.

"I don't have to let go this time, do I?"

Frisk shook their head as Sans, Papyrus, and Toriel were all grinning like children on Christmas Day.

"Good. Because I'm going to be here for a long time now."

Undyne dashed frantically through the streets of the town in order to make it to Asgore's place. The rushing wind stung her face, the temperatures were unbearably cold, and the snow and ice beneath her feet wasn't exactly stable; and she loved every moment of it despite how long it would take to get to Asgore's place. Sure, taking the car would have been faster, but Alphys had already taken it to see Napstablook. Plus, she hated driving and loved giving her legs a good workout whenever she could.

The streets were slick, and the people merely standing still had a hard time keeping balance. They were put to shame as Undyne shot past them at incredible speeds and made sharp turns as if they were nothing. In all honesty, she was having a hard time keeping herself from falling over, but the woman was determined to make it to her destination without a scratch.

At long last, Undyne stood before Asgore's home. It was your average brick house that had holiday decorations aplenty on the outside. Undyne stepped up a short set of stairs and firmly knocked on the door in the same place she knocked every time she visited. By then, there was a distinct dent in the wood that perfectly shaped around Undyne's knuckles. The door opened quickly, revealing the tall, burly boss monster in casual, human-looking attire.

"Howdy, Undyne!" he said cheerfully. "Lovely day, isn't it?"

"And it's about to get better! Race ya to my place, big guy?"

"Oh, a race? What for, do you want me to test you?"

Undyne sighed loudly and grabbed Asgore's wrist, tugging him out of his home. "C'mon! There's a surprise for you at the end! You'll love it!"

"Oh my. Is it a new teacup set?"

"Oh. My. God. Get yer big butt out here and see for yourself!"

"Well, alrighty. You asked for it." And like that, the wall of a monster ran off at nearly double Undyne's initial speed.

"That's what I'm talking about, old dude!"

Alphys pulled up in front of Napstablook's home and quickly exited her vehicle. As she walked up to the door, she couldn't stop her claws from trembling around the bag of repair supplies she brought. When Mettaton texted her saying that his cousin's cooling unit had failed, her mind automatically went to the worst of places. What if it was too late? What if his body was permanently damaged? What if Mettaton never forgave her for this mistake?

The door opened before Alphys could knock, and Mettaton quickly pulled the girl inside and dragged her to the couch where Napstablook was lying. Mettaton had turned a fan on to help cool him off, but it didn't help as much as he had hoped. Napsta's face was still a bright red and he couldn't even turn his head without further heating up.

"Dr. Alphys, ple-e-e-ase help my Blooky!" Mettaton pleaded. "He's just a baby! I don't know what I would do without him!" He got on his knees and gave Alphys the best puppy-dog eyes he could muster.

"J-just relax, Metta!" Alphys opened the bag up and pulled out a tiny screwdriver. "It's probably just clogged or needs something tightened. In the m-meantime, could you get him some ice water to sip on?"

Mettaton nodded and ran off to the kitchen on his quest for the cold liquid. While he was busy with that, Alphys had unscrewed Napstablook's chest plate and was checking for anything out of the ordinary. As it turned out, one of his fans had stopped moving, causing the network of liquid coolant in his body to become stagnant and retain heat. With a few minor adjustments and one replacement fan later, Napsta had been fixed and would be fully functional in under an hour.

In the short period of time that it took for Mettaton to come back with the water, Napstablook was already sitting up. He still felt hot to the touch, but he was cooling down from the inside out.

"Thanks... doctor..." he said quietly.

Alphys blushed softly. "I-it was nothing, really."

"Blooky~! You're okay!" Mettaton sat next to his cousin and handed him the blue cup of ice water. "There you are, darling. You'll be all better in no time."

"Oh..." He took a sip of the water and then held the chilled cup to his forehead to cool himself down even further. "Thank you, Mettaton. Alphys. You guys..." The pale robot sniffled and wiped his eyes of the surfacing tears. "You're both amazing..."

"Oh, hun. We know this already!" Mettaton pulled his cousin into a hug, and without thinking, kissed his cheek. "Oh dear. I'm sorry, Blooky. I didn't even ask for permission."

"It's fine. I... I don't mind."

While the two machines were having their moment, Alphys decided to not interfere any longer and headed out. To Mettaton, this was unacceptable. She hadn't even been there for ten minutes.

"Why not stay a while, Alphys?" Mettaton asked. "You act like you have a million things to do. And I _know_ you're just going to go home and watch cartoons."

"S-sorry, Metta. It's really important. You see, the queen's son is back, and-"

"ASRIEL'S BACK? Darling, why didn't you say so? We'll go with you. Right, Blooky?"

Napstablook shrugged. "I guess so... I remember Asriel. Isn't he... you know..."

"She said he was back, so let's just go!" Mettaton scooped up Napsta in his arms bridal style and walked out with Alphys. "This is going to be so much fun!"


	35. Family Reunited

Sans stretched and made his way towards the exit of Undyne's house. "Welp. I'd better get to work." The skeleton winked at Toriel before taking a step outside.

"Do you actually still have that job at the burger place?" Papyrus asked. "I haven't seen you go to work in days! How are you still employed?!"

"Don't worry about it." The stout skeleton turned to Frisk and smiled. "See ya, kiddo. Take care of your new sibling and my bro, okay?"

After Sans left, Asriel, Frisk, Toriel and Papyrus were all left on the couch in silence as they waited for Alphys to return and give Asriel the good-to-go. Being the least patient of the group, Papyrus pulled out his phone and frantically texted Alphys, asking what was taking so long. Since he didn't get an instant reply, or a reply at all for that matter, Papyrus just assumed that she was driving. The ONLY time Alphys ignored her phone was when she drove, which was a concept that even Papyrus could understand.

"Mommy, can we go play outside?" Asriel asked sweetly. "I wanna play in the snow with Frisk!"

Toriel patted her son on the head and smiled warmly. "Not yet, dear. After Alphys gets here and makes sure you are well enough, we can go play."

Asriel whined and turned to Papyrus. "When Alphys gets back, do you wanna play outside with me and Frisk?"

"Of course I shall, my new yet long-time friend! We can create a kingdom out of snow and rule it like the rulers we were _destined_ to be! You can be king and I shall be your best and strongest knight. Nyeh heh heh!"

"Yay! That'd be fun, but if I'm king, who will Frisk be?"

Papyrus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm... they could be the queen if they want. Or YOU could be a queen and Frisk could be king!"

Frisk shook their head and told Papyrus that they'd want to be a knight as well.

"Then it's settled! Frisk and I shall be your knights, King Asriel."

Speaking of kings, Asgore flung the front door open and stumbled inside, panting heavily. "Undyne, I... _huff..._ I win. I made it here first."

"Daddy!" Asriel leaped from the couch and pattered over to his father to give him a hug. Like any average person in Asgore's shoes, the boss monster took a step back and held a hand to his mouth as his son that had been dead for years wrapped his tiny arms around his leg and squeezed him tightly. "I'm back, Daddy! Alphys fixed me and we can be a family again!"

In a similar fashion to Toriel, Asgore knelt down and held his boy in his arms as he wept quietly. "Yes. Yes we can, Asriel."

Asriel still had to stand on his toes to hug his father, but he didn't mind. It reminded him of the old days when he'd scrape his knee and Asgore would hug him and hum a familiar tune so he'd stop crying. Asriel wanted to return the favor and hummed the melody to the best of his ability. Asgore always called it 'Memory'.

Undyne gave Asgore a big grin and patted him on the back. "I knew you'd like it."

Not long after Undyne arrived, Mettaton kicked the door open and strutted inside as if he was on a catwalk while holding Napstablook. The smaller, quieter robot in his arms held onto his cousin for dear life when Metta saw the tiny, adorable Asriel and began jumping up and down. "Blooky! Napstablook, look! Look at how cute he is!"

Napstablook unburied his head from Mettaton's chest and looked down at the fluffy child. He wanted to say hello, but felt like he would mess it up. Instead, he gave a weak smile, and Mettaton placed the shy bot on his own to feet so that he could get on his knees and cuddle Asriel.

"Mettaton! Do you want to play with us later?" Papyrus asked. "Asriel, Frisk and I are going to play outside after Alphys checks on the tiny monster. You should join!"

"Of course I will~! Napstablook should come play, too."

"No, thanks you. I'd just... get in the way. You'll have more fun without me." Napstablook took a few steps back from the group of monsters to give himself space.

Undyne walked over to Napstablook's comfort zone and took a long, hard look at him. "Wow, your new body looks great! Did MTT over here convince you to do it?"

Napstablook wasn't expecting to be confronted so directly, and by such an intimidating looking person at that. He knew very well of who Undyne was, but didn't know her personally, and because of this, his words were even more quiet than usual. "Oh... sorta. I wanted to... be able to feel again. It's nice... Metta helps me a lot... Alphys did a great job, but... I don't know if I'm working it properly..."

Speak of the devil, Alphys finally made it inside and walked over to Asriel, who was still hugging his dad. "I n-need you guys to stop for just a moment. This procedure was h-highly experimental a-and... I need to do a check-up before he can go home."

While all of this commotion was going on around them, Frisk was doing their best to ignore the little demon on their shoulder.

"You could kill him right now," Chara explained. "He died once. Dead monsters should stay dead; it's in the nature of their Souls. And he _really_ shouldn't be alive since he was brought back **twice**. Once because of unnatural determination, and twice because someone that died before gave their life again to bring such a pointless thing back."

"Frisk, are you listening?" Papyrus asked as he tapped the child on the shoulder. "Alphys said that we can go home with Asriel now! Go get your coat and let's play!"

With that, everyone went outside and began building an enormous snow fort. To clarify, _everyone_ includes Toriel, Asgore, Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus, Mettaton, Napstablook, Asriel and Frisk. Asgore and Undyne worked together to clear all the snow they could from the sidewalks and brought it to the front yard. Alphys, Papyrus, and Mettaton worked on the actual construction of the fort. Napstablook tried helping, but decided to just stand near his cousin. Asriel and Frisk chased each other around and threw snowballs at one another, and Toriel was happy to just be there and watch her extended family have fun.

It was certainly one of the most unusual scenes their neighbors had ever seen, as the play drew in the attention of the mostly human street. There were in fact humans that lived with monsters, but the humans would normally outnumber them. In this case, Frisk was the only one that the neighbors deemed 'normal'. The humans didn't cause any trouble, though. If one was caught staring at them too long, Undyne would give them a death-stare, and that would drive off even the most curious person.

"Knight Frisk!" Asriel called. "We must keep our kingdom safe. Go out and slay the beast!" The fluffy monster pointed over to Asgore, who had been playing along and was acting like a ferocious lion.

"Yes, go slay the beast," Chara said. "Or better yet, give me control and let me kill the abomination that is Asriel Dreemurr."

Frisk clutched at the stick that they were pretending was a sword. Something felt off. They couldn't move their body or control their thoughts while everything around them became fuzzy and black spots and streaks danced across their vision. It felt like they were being dragged deeper and deeper into a forced dream. Soon, everything faded to black, and yet, they stood in place. They were no longer conscious, but they were standing properly. Frisk hadn't fallen over or even budged an inch. In fact, despite Frisk no longer being there, a sadistic smile crept across the child's face as they turned to face Asriel.

"Yes. Let us slay the beast," Chara said.


	36. Unrecognized Sin

Chara took a few seconds to get used to their new body. It felt very odd to have a physical form again, especially since it wasn't what they were used to. Frisk was ever-so-slightly shorter than Chara, and because the body was being possessed by am entity that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place, Chara's movements were delayed by less than a second. Despite all this, it felt amazing to be able to feel again. The stick in their hand was rough and cold, the air was frigid, and the snow beneath their feet was crunchy. What felt even _more_ amazing was the fact that Chara was able to hurt **others** again. This was something that they looked forward to the most.

Chara looked at Asgore, who was still pretending to be a threat to Asriel's imaginary kingdom. At first, Chara wanted to do what they always did and just run up to the monster and completely slaughter him. It would surely be easy because of their murderous intentions and the nature of monster's souls. This, however, did not happen. Chara could no longer just jump into killing things without planning ahead. If they killed Asgore then and there, Undyne would surely have their head, and they weren't ready to face Undyne the Undying again- not with such a low amount of HP. No, they had to work their way up from the bottom and then slaughter everything in sight.

"Are you okay, Frisk?" Asriel asked. "You've been standing there with that weird face for a while."

"I need to use the bathroom," Chara replied blandly. "I'll be back soon."

With that, the child with the borrowed body dropped their weapon and went inside, only to find Sans asleep on the couch. They weren't surprised by this in the least- in fact, they welcomed the lazy bum and implemented him into the plan that they had been formulating. Chara knew that Sans would die in one hit if he was caught off guard, or in this case, asleep. They also knew that he would give them a LOT of LV. Killing Sans would be the perfect way to start everything, as it would assure an easy victory. However, the perfect start would need the perfect weapon.

Instinctively, Chara went to the kitchen and began rifling through the drawers for a certain object of the stabbing variety. They just wouldn't feel right without a large, sharp knife to pierce the flesh and bones of the very monsters trying to protect them. The thought alone excited Chara to no end and made their movements quicker and more erratic.

Not finding anything suitable in the drawers, Chara pulled a chair up to the counter and stood on it to get a better look at their options. There was a coffee pot, some clean dishes, some sort of plant, and a wooden knife block that held the child's attention like an addictive cartoon. Chara then proceeded to pull each potential weapon out of their holders and wondered which one would be best for the job. There was a jagged bread knife, a paring knife, a carving knife, and finally, the cook's knife that would be used in generic slasher films. Finding the other blades borning, Chara took ahold of the cook's knife to get a quick feel for it and suddenly had the urge to test it out. But, on what? They wanted it to draw blood, but Sans' blood wouldn't do the job for them. So, the only rational thing for the sociopath to do was to test in on themself.

Chara held out the first finger of their left hand over the sink and gave the tip a sharp prick with the knife in their right. It was a dull pain that didn't last very long, but the end result was quite satisfying. The tiny cut leaked a few small beads of red that quickly collected together into one big drop of blood. This larger drop then ran down Chara's hand and wrist before falling into the sink, creating a beautiful, splattered spot of crimson on its silver insides. This experience made Chara's heart race, and they certainly weren't going to stop with just one cut and a pathetic, single drop of blood. Instead, the child repeated the process of cutting, bleeding, and watching until each of their fingers of their left hand had a shallow, stinging wound. The blood that left Chara's body pooled into the bottom of the sink until it finally became much too heavy to remain in one spot and oozed down the drain. Chara felt better after doing all this, but as fun as it was to hurt themself, it was even more fun to hurt others.

After turning around to make sure Sans was still asleep, Chara left the kitchen and made their way up to him, hiding the knife behind their back. The sight of the skeleton snoozing while sitting up brought back one of the best feelings Chara had ever experienced. Killing Sans back in the underground made them feel invincible, especially after such a hard fight that took several tries over a course of six hours. This time, it would be quick and efficient, and they would be able to see him die right before their eyes.

The child drew the knife and wondered the best possible way to end his pitiful, fruitless life. Across the chest like last time? Between the eyes? Decapitation in a similar fashion to Papyrus? Maye cutting his legs off first to let him try and get away? The possibilities were endless and Chara weighed every single one of them. At last, Chara decided that several well-placed stabs would suffice. After all, it would take a moment for Sans to actually die, so they'd have plenty of time to play around and make him suffer as much as possible.

Chara quickly brought the knife down towards Sans' chest. In the small amount of time that it took for the blade to move from one place to another, they fantasized about what kind of sounds he would make as the life would quite literally drain from his body. They thought about what Sans' last moments would be like and what he would say or do before dying. And, for some odd reason... they thought about how heartbroken Papyrus would be upon discovering his one and only brother was dead. Out of all the repercussions of killing Sans, that was the only thing that drifted into their mind. Chara didn't think of how Undyne would kill them or what would happen if they got caught. They just thought of how it would make Papyrus feel. This, of course, was **not** something Chara would think about. They never cared about feelings of others or how their actions affected people. No, these thoughts were being caused by none other than a wimpy loser with a big heart, Frisk.

More guilty thoughts invaded Chara's mind. Frisk was making them think about how sad Toriel would be and how broken their family would become if Sans was murdered. Guilt was a heavy, intense feeling that Chara had never felt before, and no amount of their determination could bring their knife to hurt Sans or anyone else. The weapon dropped to the floor as hot tears stung in Frisk's eyes. At last, the rightful owner of the body had returned and Chara was nowhere to be seen or felt.

A yawn came from the skeleton on the couch before his eyes opened. "Hey, bucko. What's up? Why are you crying?" Sans asked.

Frisk quickly wrapped their arms around Sans an sobbed into his coat. Being controlled by Chara felt disgusting, and what they were about to do made them feel even worse. Something had to be done about the undead child, but what?

"Buddy, pal, it's okay." Sans rubbed Frisk's back and did his best to assure them of his words. "Everything is fine. I promise. Do you... wanna stay inside for the day and hang out with my bro? I guarantee you'll be feeling better in no time if you do."

The child nodded and pulled away from the hug.

Sans stood up and stretched. "That's the spirit. I'll go break the news to everyone."

Frisk shook their head and held Sans's hand, claiming that they didn't want to be left alone.

"Gotcha. Well, c'mon. We'll tell 'em together."


	37. Hanging Dread

Once everyone was notified about Frisk wanting to stay inside, the extended family took their leave. Asgore walked home and Alphys offered a ride to Mettaton and Napstablook. The two accepted, but they couldn't leave on the spot because Undyne ran inside to get something. She reappeared not too long after that and gave Napsta a beautifully wrapped present before sending him off with Alphys and then going home herself.

Papyrus, Toriel, and Asriel went home with Sans and Frisk to continue their play. This time, instead of ruling a kingdom, Papyrus decided to show Asriel his collection of games that he had acquired, and the two were deciding on which ones to play. Frisk asked Sans for a second opinion, but he was back to his spot on the couch and was snoring softly. Frisk also noticed that the knife they had dropped was no longer on the ground, and they assumed that Sans had put it in the sink like the clever skeleton that he was.

"Frisk, why is your hand covered in tiny cuts?" Papyrus asked, gently taking hold of Frisk's hand.

Frisk made up a lie on the spot and told him that they fell. It was obvious that they had been cutting themself because of the angle and precision of the cuts, but they hoped Papyrus wouldn't notice.

"Hmm... I shall return with bandages. Stay here." Papyrus stood up and went to the upstairs bathroom, leaving Frisk with their brother.

Asriel tapped Frisk on the shoulder to get their attention. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked.

Frisk nodded and forced a soft smile. They felt fine, but deep down, the child was scared. Chara was able to take over and was clearly capable of killing again. They didn't want to hurt anyone, and the worst part about the whole situation was the fact that Frisk was able to experience everything Chara did. Frisk could feel Chara's excitement at the thought of ending Sans' life. Frisk winced when Chara dug the knife into their fingers, but at the same time, it felt good. Perhaps the most frightening part of it was the fact that Frisk couldn't do anything to stop them.

"I have returned with the Box of Healing!" Papyrus stated as he sat next to Frisk and pulled out a tiny first-aid kit. Carefully, he opened it and took out five tiny bandages and placed them on each of Frisk's fingers on their left hand. "There. That should keep the red stuff from leaking out. Eh... you need the stuff to be inside, right?"

Frisk nodded and Papyrus patted them on the head.

"Then the great Papyrus has done his job! Now, what game shall we play?"

While Asriel was rummaging through the stack of games Papyrus had presented him with, Toriel walked into the living room and asked everyone in the room if they had poured anything into the sink. This made Frisk's heart drop. How could they _possibly_ explain to Toriel that they were possessed by her dead child and decided to hurt themself to test the sharpness of a knife? Surely, they would be thought of as insane by everyone but Sans.

"Yeah, I spilled some stuff," Sans claimed. "Guess I shoulda cleaned it up, huh?"

Toriel giggled. "Yes, you should have. It would give this old lady one less thing to worry about."

"Welp. I've got no choice then, do I?" Sans left his spot on the couch and yawned drowsily. "The quicker I do it, the faster I can get back to work."

"You're not even AT work!" Papyrus pointed out.

"There is a simple explanation for that, my friend- I'm on break."

Out of the blue, Papyrus' phone began to ring. He quickly answered it and then sported one of the most confused looks on his face. Mettaton was on the other line, but he didn't sound quite like himself. His speech was slurred and he stuttered and hiccuped occasionally. He also seemed to have found something quite funny, as he kept giggling like a little girl.

"Could you say that again? I think there may be something wrong with my phone. You don't sound like you!"

"Oh, of course, darling~! You see- _hic_ -my d-dearest Blooky just received a looovely gift from Undyne, and t-to celebrate, I- _hic_ -decided to try a very delicious variety of human drinks I had stored aw-away." Mettaton could be heard holding back laughter as he stumbled through the house.

"That's wonderful, but... why did you call? Did you perhaps accidentally call the great Papyrus because my name is so high on your contacts list?"

Mettaton let out a burst of laughter that sounded incredibly genuine, despite how exaggerated it seemed. "No, silly! I want you t-to come over and- _hic_ -drink with me."

"Hmm... as much as I would love to spend some quality time with a friend, I will have to decline. You see, the great Papyrus is incredibly powerful, and I fear that if I were under the influence of such drinks, I would hurt someone. So, I must refuse your generous offer and I hope that our friendship does not falter."

"Awww, are you sure? It's no fun to dr-drink alone and Blooky is in his room."

"I'm sure. And as a friend, I would like to give you some advice: Please go and lay down. I'm... not entirely sure how this works for robots, but when my brother drinks, a good nap always fixes him right up!"

"Will do, swee- _hic_ -sweetheart. Toodles~!"

With that, Mettaton hung up and gazed off to the living room from the kitchen. His room was off to the side of the living room and wasn't very far away at all. Although, in his condition, getting there seemed nearly impossible. To Mettaton, gravity was working against him and the room was constantly spinning and shifting. It was hard enough to stand without having to lean on the kitchen counter, and they didn't want to risk falling and getting hurt on their way to bed. So, instead of risking anything at all, they called their roommate for help.

Napstablook meekly wandered into the kitchen and carefully placed one of his cousin's arms over his shoulder to give him support and cautiously made their way through the kitchen. It wasn't particularly difficult to keep Mettaton from falling over, but Napstablook just felt downright uncomfortable around him while he was in such a state. He could remember Mettaton getting slightly tipsy once and then proceeding to flirt with Napstablook for quite a while.

At last, the two made it to Mettaton's pink, sparkly room that was covered in posters or various boy bands. Literally everything in the room was pink, including the walls and bed. Napstablook didn't have anything against the colour, but such a large amount of any hue would be off-putting.

As carefully as he could, Napstablook rested Mettaton on his bed and plugged him into the wall for him to charge for the night. He hadn't been charged for a while, and having alcohol in his system only drained his battery further.

"Thank you s-so much for taking ca- _hic_ -care of me, Blooky," Mettaton said. "Oh, whaddidya do with the stuff Undyne gave you, hun?"

"Oh... it's in my room. I didn't want to ruin any of it." Napstablook gazed down at his best friend with eyes full of worry. Mettaton's eyes looked hazy and his face was burning a bright red and only got worse the longer he stared. "Are you... alright?"

Mettaton smiled brightly. "I'm fan-TASTIC! Those human drinks are so sweet and I f-feel so warm an- _hic_ -and fuzzy and..." The robot's expression soon shifted from glee to uncertainty. "You can see right through me, can't you?"

"I think so... Tell me what's wrong, please."

"Blooky, I think... I th-think there's something rea- _hic_ -really wrong with Frisk." Mettaton's tone lowered and his voice quivered with fear and sadness. Napstablook could have sworn that he saw tears in his eyes. "Something's really wrong, Blooky. I thought if I drank, I'd forget, but- _hic_ -I can feel it. It isn't right."

"I know what you mean... I felt really uncomfortable near them today when we were outside. I thought it was just me... I'm sorry for not saying anything."

"Blooky, noooooo!" Before he knew it, Napstablook was pulled into a lazy hug and was having his hair stroked. "Oh, you precious marshmallow. Don't be sorry, I didn't s-say anything either."

Napstablook pushed away the urge to get away from Mettaton and hugged back instead. They both needed some comfort, after all. "So... now what?"


	38. Separating Determination

{ **Trigger Warning** : There's some self harm in this chapter that's pretty gruesome. Skip ahead to the dialogue if you get triggered by these things.}

For the third night in a row, Chara regained control of Frisk's body and decided to have a little fun with it. Since Frisk could snap back into command if Chara wanted to hurt their family, Chara was was forced to do something a bit more painful to quench their desire for blood.

 _Drip, drip, drip..._

Slowly, the child dragged a pin across the palm of their left hand and watched as the bright red liquid spilled into the white bathroom sink. The initial pain didn't last very long, but the wound that they had created stung and burned as if it were on fire. The sensation was as addictive as it was painful, and like any other addiction, they were left wanting more after each hit.

 _Drip, drip... drip..._

Frisk was cowering in the back of their own mind, waiting for Chara to stop their assault. The innocent of the two could only muster up enough strength to fight them off when their family was in danger, and Chara knew this. With each prick and stroke of the pin, Chara smiled at the thought of Frisk losing themself in the agony. With each drop of blood that fell from the child's hand, they could feel Frisk's sanity slip away.

 _Drip... drip... drip..._

At last, the wound on the child's hand began to scab up and no longer provided a sufficient amount of blood to satisfy Chara's desires. Chara then receded back into the farthest, darkest corner of Frisk's consciousness to take a nice, long break while Frisk was left to clean up the mess they made.

Suddenly, Frisk heard footsteps come from behind. They panicked and dropped the pin into the sink and were forced to fish it out through a sea of red.

"Human, why are you awake?" Papyrus asked from the open bathroom door that Chara had forgotten to close. "It's past midnight and you have school in the morning! What in the heavens are you doing up?"

Frisk ran cold water and attempted to conceal their wound before Papyrus walked in on them. It was too late by then, as the skeleton had already seen their blood swirl down the drain. At this sight, Papyrus rushed over to Frisk's aid and began searching their body for the wound. When he found it along with the bloody pin, he didn't know how to feel.

"Frisk, you've... been doing this to yourself? Why? Why would you want to hurt yourself, that's so... un-Frisk-like!"

Not wanting to explain themself, Frisk gave Papyrus the silent treatment as he cleaned their hand and wrapped it in bandages. The couldn't just tell him why they did what they did; Papyrus just wouldn't understand. The only person that could remotely relate to them was Sans, and Frisk felt guilty for bugging him so much.

Papyrus scooped Frisk up in his arms and started towards the child's room. "You know, Frisk, I wanted to do something similar when I found out what I did to Gaster."

After opening the door to Frisk's room and tucking them into bed, Papyrus continued speaking. "But then I remembered who I am! And who I am would never let who I thought I was think about who I knew I was wanted to do. That is why who you are needs to be who you want to be. Does that make sense?"

Frisk didn't quite understand what Papyrus had just said, but they nodded anyways.

"Good! Now, as your loving friend that wants nothing but the best for you, I am forced to tell Toriel what you did. You'll see that it's for the best."

"That's going to be a problem," Chara said to Frisk. "How will Toriel look at you knowing that you're a psycho? I don't think she'll ever love you again."

"H-human? Why are you looking at me like that? And... why am I so... afraid?" Papyrus took a step back from Frisk's bed and the child unwillingly sat up straight.

"She won't even be able to look you in the eye anymore, Frisk. Obviously, something must be done."

For the second time that evening, Chara took control of Frisk's body. They knew that Papyrus shouldn't have found out about what was going on in the first place, and Chara had a plan to keep him quiet.

Chara exited the bed and stood up, staring Papyrus dead in the eye. He looked even more frightened than he did when Chara first encountered them while on their goal of genocide. They could have sworn that they saw his legs tremble as they took another step forward.

"Are you perhaps... getting out of bed to tell her yourself?"

With the same twisted smile on their face as before, Chara approached the skeleton in a slow, stiff manner. Frisk used what energy that they had to beg them not to kill Papyrus, but their efforts were wasted as Frisk could not feel any murderous intent in the child for once. Chara didn't seem to want to hurt Papyrus, but they still wanted to keep him quiet.

"You're getting pretty close to me. D-did you want a hug? Or, perhaps, to talk?"

Before long, Papyrus was backed up against the wall as Chara drew closer and closer until they were mere inches away from him. He _had_ to be silenced, but if Chara wanted to kill him, Frisk would snap back into control almost immediately. This gave the demonic child a very clever and fun idea.

"May I have a kiss goodnight?" Chara asked innocently.

Papyrus sighed in relief. "Is that all you wanted? Of course you can have a goodnight kiss! But please, next time, do not scare the great Papyrus! You had me worried for a minute."

Papyrus knelt down to get on the same level with Chara. As soon as he leaned in for the kiss, Chara reeled their right arm back and struck Papyrus square in the temple, effectively rendering him unconscious. This automatically caused Frisk to have a panic attack, but Chara couldn't have been any more calm. Sure, their hand was a bit sore, but they were as relaxed as ever.

As quietly as they could, Chara dragged the knocked-out skeleton to his room and threw him onto his bed. They positioned him as naturally as possible before leaving the room and shutting the door behind them. Once that was all said and done, Frisk resumed control of their body and almost immediately collapsed. Their heart wouldn't stop racing and their breathing turned raspy and staggered.

"Relax. He's fine," Chara assured. "He'll wake up thinking this was just a bad dream. Now, go back to bed."

Frisk's heart couldn't take much more of Chara's shenanigans. They were a danger to themself, to Frisk, to Frisk's family, and to all of humanity. If only they could give them compassion, or at least, separate them from Frisk and have the world take care of them the same way all murderers are dealt with. It was at that moment where the lightbulb finally appeared over Frisk's head. Along with this idea came a sudden burst of adrenaline that made Frisk as determined as ever, thus preventing Chara from taking over for at least an hour. However, this sudden adrenaline shot came with the lack of being able to think properly, so the idea that came was the only thing on their mind.

"Why are you so happy, suddenly?"

Frisk remembered Alphys talking about how her soul machine evened out its contents by moving the souls around into equal parts. What if Frisk stepped into the machine all by themself? Would Chara be separated? Would it split Frisk's soul into two and make two people? Or, would it kill Frisk because of it never being tested on a human? They were willing to risk all of those things to keep the world safe.

"Do not disobey me, child. I won't hesitate to kill them all."

Even though Chara sounded as monotone as always, Frisk knew that they were bluffing. After all, they couldn't gain control if their actions were based on killing, PLUS Frisk was far too determined to let that happen.

"You will die, Frisk. Toriel won't be able to live with the guilt of losing another one. Papyrus will never smile again. Sans will want to commit suicide. Asriel will have lost their best friend once more. Undyne won't ever be able to forgive herself. Alphys will never feel happiness again."

Chara's words meant less and less to Frisk the more they kept talking. Frisk knew that their family would understand as long as they left something behind. Before Frisk went out to go to Alphys' house, they left a note on their bed, telling everyone what they were doing and why.

"Are you really that selfish? Risking your family's happiness to _maybe_ fix your own stupid mistake?"

Frisk silently left the house and ran over to Alphys' place, knocked on the door, and waited for someone to answer. They knew that the couple that occupied the home should be awake- they usually were.

Undyne opened the door and looked down at the determined child, curiously wondering why they were outside past midnight alone. "Frisk, what the hell are you doing out here? It's freezing cold and really freakin' late!"

With no time to lose, Frisk zipped past Undyne and headed towards Alphys' lab. Undyne tried stopping them, but the determination of the child was much stronger than anything Undyne could ever hope to achieve, thus causing her to lag behind them quite a bit.

After running through the underground halls for a bit, Frisk came across a familiar metal cylinder and a control panel. Frisk assumed that the settings on the panel were the same from last time, so they pushed the 'activate' button and hopped inside before the door closed.

The last thing they saw before the door slid shut was Undyne running after them and screaming for Frisk to stop. The last thing they felt was an intense pain around their neck, as if the child was being choked, before both Frisk and Chara lost consciousness.


	39. Bête Noire

_Dark, darker, even darker..._

Frisk could feel their consciousness freely floating away from their physical body and through a black sea of confusion. In fact, it felt as if they were completely detached from their physical form entirely as whatever was left of them drifted along with the flow of a darkening tide. Knowing this, it was indeed quite difficult for the child to focus on anything because of their disorientation and lack of an actual body. If they had to describe it, Frisk could only tell you that it was like going on an adventure in your own mind, but you somehow leave your body far, far away as you sink deeper and deeper into a seemingly endless empty, silent ocean of darkness.

From this abyss, Frisk could hear a soft, monotone voice calling out to them. Focusing on it only made the voice more distorted, so instead, they allowed their mind to wonder and float amongst the waves that they were lost in. By doing this, they soon discovered that it was Chara's disembodied voice speaking to them.

"I want you to think about what you've done, Frisk," Chara told them blandly. "Was it really worth it? You could be dying for all we know, and for what? Did you think anything would change? Someone's going to open the machine eventually, and when they do, I'm having them absorb your Soul. I _will_ live on. You understand this, yes?"

Frisk wanted to nod, but without a body, such an action was impossible. This, however, did not prevent Chara from understanding them.

"Of course you understand. You made the choice long ago. You remember, yes? Giving me your Soul? You knew what would happen, but you did it anyway. It would not have mattered if you said no. It's not like you had a choice at that point."

Again, Frisk 'nodded'. At that point, they accepted their sins as they came. They could no longer reset and run from what they did, and finally, they knew this. Frisk understood that not everything could be fixed with resetting, and because of this, they accepted their fate.

"So you finally get it. Your actions have consequences, and now, they're weighing down on your very being. This is what I wanted from the beginning, you know."

Frisk attempted to tilt their head in confusion. They told Chara that they thought Chara only killed and did those horrible things because they could.

"No, Frisk. _You_ did those things because you could. I am merely the aftermath of over a hundred poor decisions. I am your punishment. I represent every life you took and all the LOVE you gained."

The void became silent for a few minutes as Frisk reflected on their choices in past games. They did some pretty horrible things just to see what would happen- almost identical to how some people hurt themselves just to see how it feels, and Chara was the big, ugly scar that was left behind. Chara wasn't a normal scar, either. They were the kind of scar that people would point out and joke about, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. They were the kind of scar that would still sting years after the initial cut. They were the kind of scar that Frisk would most likely have to deal with for the rest of their life.

As if they could hear Frisk's thoughts, Chara responded with, "That is all I needed to hear. But, answer this: What are you going to do now that I have my own life again?"

Chara's voice vanish, and slowly but surely, Frisk was able to feel their limbs starting from their toes up to the very top of their head. They opened their eyes, and from the endless darkness came a soft, white light that was warm and inviting. This light became brighter and brighter until it was nearly blinding. The child squinted at the light and attempted to focus on something within it. Upon doing so, the silence was broken along with the bright light, and they could clearly see Toriel cradling them in her arms while Undyne and Alphys watched in awe behind her, and Alphys appeared to be examining something on a table she brought down to the basement.

"My child, what has gotten into you recently?" Toriel asked in between shaky breaths. "You bring back my son, you hurt Papyrus, a-and then you..." Toriel clutched Frisk tightly and held back a sob. "I don't know how you did it, but both of my children are back. Frisk... what ARE you?"

Before Frisk could process what Toriel had said, Alphys walked up to her and tugged on her sleeve. "T-Toriel, they're gonna b-be okay. Whatever Frisk d-did, it worked."

"Hey, Al? They're moving." Undyne said from the table that had a unconscious Chara on it.

"Oh goodness. It is still so hard to believe." Toriel walked over to the white table and looked down at her child, who was in a deep sleep.

Frisk couldn't believe their eyes. Chara was in a position that they never thought to be possible; they looked completely innocent. There was no demented smile, no blood, no demonic face from hell... they looked like your average, sleeping child.

"Is this real?" Toriel asked herself quietly.

"Heck yeah!" Undyne answered. "They've got a pulse and everything! Frisk is either a genius or just ungodly lucky for making this work."

Toriel nodded. "Indeed. And... _how_ exactly did this work?"

Alphys made an expression as if she could explain precisely how Frisk brought Chara back... and then she gave an awkward shrug. "I literally have no idea. Um... we could just accept it? Maybe?"

With no other explanation being presented, everyone agreed with Alphys. It was the easiest thing to do.

"Now that this is settled, Toriel, I w-would like to let you know that I have to keep Chara and Frisk here overnight to make sure they're good to go."

"Oh... well, if it is necessary.."

Alphys tried to show an optimistic smile. "Don't worry, Toriel. They'll be fine, it's just a precaution."

"Yes, I understand. You be good for aunt Alphys and Undyne, okay my child?"

Frisk nodded lazily and Toriel handed them off to Undyne before leaving for the night. She still had a job to do in the morning, no matter what happened in her life.

Later that night, Undyne tucked Chara and Frisk into her bed and sat in a small, wooden chair near the door in the dark room to keep an eye on them for the night. To Undyne, it was the least she could do to ensure their safety. However, with her barely being able to squeeze in six hours of sleep that week, it wasn't long before she was out cold.

Frisk couldn't lay still with... _them_ sleeping next to them. It made Frisk really uneasy and caused an unnecessary amount of paranoia to build up. What if Chara was awake? What if they were plotting something? What if they had a weapon and planned to kill Undyne? Frisk couldn't let anything bad happen, so they forced themself to stay awake so that they could watch the child. This proved to be difficult as the room was nearly pitch black and incredibly quiet- both of which made the perfect sleeping condition for Frisk.

"I am not going to hurt you, if that is what you are thinking," Chara said suddenly.

Frisk was taken aback by the child's sharp words that sliced through the thick silence. How long had they been awake?

"Surprisingly, I do not feel the desire to take one's life. Strange, is it not? This must be what you see me as, some kind of mass murderer, yes?"

Frisk wanted to nod, but they knew that it would be rude to do so.

"No. I am not like that. I may hate humanity, but you helped me get my stress out through your _several_ genocide routes. Now, I feel... empty. Very much like Flowey. I am not happy to be here, nor do I hate the fact that I am alive. Now that I have this chance at life, I realise that this is not how I imagined it. I cannot understand the emotion that Toriel felt when she saw me. I do not understand these feelings at all, Frisk." Chara rolled over to look Frisk in the eye. "I cannot understand why you are choosing to keep me alive now. I am of no use to you. I am of no use to this world any longer. I was meant to die a very, very long time ago." Chara sat up and sighed softly. "There is nothing left for me in this world. So, the real question is: Was everything you did really worth it?"


	40. Gaining Love

Frisk didn't really know how to react to Chara's comment. Of _course_ they were going to let them live with Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, and Asriel. What other option did they have? Chara was Toriel's child. It's not like they could just throw them out because of something Frisk did. However, Frisk wasn't exactly comfortable with them being in the same room as Undyne either. If Chara chose to, they could kill her in her sleep, gain at least 3 LV, and then wipe out the rest of their family. But they way the child talked... it didn't seem like that would happen at all.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, because in my eyes, I have done nothing wrong," Chara explained. "But do you REALLY think we can live a normal life together? Grow up together, move out, and get jobs like normal people?"

Frisk nodded half-heartedly. Chara seemed like they could be normal enough for this world, after all.

"Of course you think so. The game never really ended for you did it? You still have to make as many people as happy as possible before you reset and tear it all away."

Frisk shook their head and told Chara that they were done resetting everything over and over again. They told them about how they just wanted to free everyone and live a normal life again.

"I see. It must have taken a lot of courage to do that after slaughtering everyone."

"Wha... are you two still awake?" Undyne asked from her chair. "It's REALLY late! Why aren't you asleep? Is something wrong? Should I get Alphys?"

"There is nothing wrong," Chara replied calmly. "It is just odd to be here again. I will sleep soon. Good night, Undyne."

"Uhh... okay? Good night?" Undyne sounded unsure about Chara's response. They didn't sound like your average child. Chara's voice was unnaturally monotone and flat, and the way they talked reminded her of a few sociopaths she took down while she was in the Royal Guard.

The next morning, Frisk was informed that they would be excused from school that day so that Alphys could run tests and also register Chara for their own education plan.

"Y-you must be pretty excited to see your brother again, huh Chara?" Alphys asked the child from her desk.

Chara shrugged. "I never really missed him in the first place, but I know that he will be happy to see me."

"He loves you a l-lot, you know that, right?"

"Love... yes, I understand."

From the awkward silence that followed Chara's words came a knock on the door, which was soon replaced with Mettaton bursting into Alphys' home with a very embarrassed Napstablook hiding behind him.

"Alphys, Napstablook had an accident! You MUST fix him at once!" Mettaton demanded as his cousin distracted himself by playing with the bottom of his white hoodie.

"Whoa! C-calm down, MTT. What happened? What's wrong?"

Mettaton glanced over at the two children in the room and cleared his throat. "Well, I can't exactly tell you what happened because of... _them._ It would rot their poor, innocent minds."

Alphys sighed and walked up to Napstablook. "So, what's the problem?"

Napstablook made a doleful expression before lifting up his jumper, revealing that his blue, heart-shaped core was slightly cracked and leaking a bright blue liquid.

"Oh. Oh my God." The scientist looked up at Mettaton and furrowed her brows. "This is _your_ fault, isn't it?"

Mettaton covered his face with his hands and spoke softly. "It is. And I am ashamed of doing such a thing to my poor, innocent, adorable Blooky."

"It's fine. I can fix this in a snap. Until then, why don't you keep Frisk and Chara company?"

"Chara? That sounds so... familiar." The robot looked over at the children and signed a 'Hello' to Frisk before approaching.

Frisk immediately began to fear for Mettaton's safety as he neared Chara. They knew Chara wouldn't dare try to hurt the robot, but that fact still didn't settle the discomfort that Frisk had in their stomach.

Mettaton walked over to Chara and knelt down to speak to them. "Hello~ I don't believe we've met before. My name is Mettaton. It's a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart."

"...Charmed." Chara stood on their toes and looked over at Alphys, who was examining Napstablook's core and applying some sort of gel to it. "Did you break him on purpose?"

"Of course not! I would _never_ hurt him on purpose, I love him too much for that."

"Then why is his injury your fault?"

Mettaton laughed nervously; something about the child didn't feel quite right to him. "Accidents happen to the best of us, darling. They can even happen to stars such as yours truly."

Chara snickered wolfishly. "Are you sure it was an accident?"

Mettaton made a somewhat stern expression. "I'm pretty sure that it was. Why would I hurt the person that I live for?"

"Maybe you can see that he's suffering and no longer wants to be a part of this world anymore. Maybe because of this fact, you wanted to put him out of his misery. Is that not what one would do for someone they love?"

If Mettaton could become any more pale, he certainly would have after hearing Chara speak. "Oh my. You're... quite the imaginative one, aren't you?" Without warning, Mettaton stood up and began to shake uncontrollably. He held his head in his hand, and his breathing became raspy. "I'm... suddenly not feeling too well. I feel faint... and my chest hurts... A-Alphys, dear, could you run a quick scan on my system?"

"Sure thing! Just come over here and I'll check you out once the r-repair gel hardens."

Not wanting them to cause any more trouble, Frisk grabbed Chara's hand and dragged them away to the couch.

"Do you want me to sit here and watch television with you?" Chara asked.

Frisk nodded and patted a spot next to them for Chara to sit on.

Chara climbed onto the couch and folded their legs neatly. "I see. You know, I never really got any pleasure out of watching these programmes. They're generic and made to fit the masses so they mimic what they see and become a fitting part of our so-called 'society'. It really isn't my thing."

Frisk told Chara that some shows were really fun to watch and are never meant to be taken seriously.

"Yet another thing for weak-minded creatures to relate to. Not much thinking involved, you see."

After a few minutes of trying to hold a normal conversation with Chara, Napstablook and Mettaton were fixed up and ready to go. Alphys volunteered to take them home, but Mettaton told her that he had his own ride.

Undyne alerted the kids and told them that Alphys said they were fit to be sent home. However, since Undyne was still suspicious of Chara, she took the two home and paid close attention to the way Chara walked- this was a way she profiled many people around her. Chara's walking patterns caught her attention rather quickly, and made Undyne wonder if Chara really was a normal, human child. While Frisk walked somewhat sloppily but kept a spring in their step, Chara's steps were quick, efficient, and seemed to be timed to an imaginary beat. This wasn't exactly normal for a nine year-old, but it wasn't enough to get Undyne to call them out on anything.

Once the children were dropped off at home, they were greeted with hugs and kisses from Toriel and Papyrus. Frisk was more than happy to be held by their family, but from the look on Chara's face, it didn't look like they could care less.

"Oh, am I so glad that you two are alright!" Toriel exclaimed. "Chara, I have someone who is very excited to see you. He's taking a bath now, but when he's done, I hope you're ready for an even bigger hug."

"Understood. What shall I do in the meantime?"

"We can play a board game!" Papyrus suggested.

"Papyrus, I thought I told you to go back to bed. You're not feeling well, remember?"

Papyrus pouted as best as he could for someone without lips. "The great Papyrus is fine! I just... bumped my head last night and have no recollection of doing so."

"Alright, alright. You can play your game, but I'm going to play with you for once."

"Wowie! Really? Okay, I wanna play THIS one!" Out of thin air (or maybe his shirt, perhaps) Papyrus revealed a colorful and rather old-looking board game's box. He flipped the top off, and to everyone's surprise, there was a small, white dog asleep on the inside. Papyrus shouted at the mutt, causing it to escape through the front door. The box was left empty, and Frisk assumed that the dog absorbed the game.

"Mommy, is Papyrus okay?" Asriel asked from upstairs. "I heard shouting and an annoying barking and-" Halfway down the stairs, Asriel paused and stared at his best friend. He couldn't believe his eyes, but the longer he looked, the sooner he realised that Chara was really there. "Ch... Chara? Is that really you?"

Chara nodded. "I suppose that I am."

With tears in his eyes, Asriel sprinted to Chara and hugged them as if they would never meet again. "Chara! I missed you so much, where have you been? I was so alone... I was so sad, Chara! I cried for years... Chara, I... I love you, Chara. You're my best friend!"

As if Chara was really human for just a moment, they hugged back just as tightly and buried their face in Asriel's neck. They felt alive when he hugged them. They felt good. They felt... overjoyed to be with him again. "I love you too, Azzy."


	41. Puzzling Motives

For the rest of the day, Papyrus, Frisk and Chara played games together until Toriel got back from work. Papyrus made the two kids breakfast, Asriel was at school, and Sans was fast asleep in his room, but Frisk could tell that he was still watching.

Papyrus placed his backup board game on the floor in the living room and sat next to it, inviting Chara and Frisk to play with him. It was your generic, colorful game with three game pieces and pair of six-sided dice. The goal was to roll the dice and move your piece the amount of spaces the dice counted, and if you got to the end first, you won.

Oddly enough, while playing with everyone, Chara seemed almost normal. Sure, they still had the same stoic expression as always, but occasionally, the would smile just a little. It wasn't noticeable until Frisk was actually scanning their face for some sort of reaction. The corners of Chara's mouth would tilt upwards oh so slightly whenever they made a good move in the game they were playing, and to be completely honest, Frisk found it cute.

"I get to move six entire spaces! Nyeh heh heh!" Papyrus moved his blue piece across the board his six spaces, and he had two moves until he would win the game. Of course, he had to get those two _exact_ moves to win.

"You must think that you are going to win, yes?" Chara asked, picking up the dice and rolling them. They rolled a four, thus taking them to the space they needed in order to win. "Game over. I win"

"Incredible! You are very good at this game, Chara."

"Good? No, this is simply based on luck. I could have won much sooner by altering how I threw the dice, but then the game would have been far too short."

"I see. In that case, would you like to play something else? Frisk and I still haven't finished Silent Hill. We could use your assistance!"

Chara sighed and stood up. "I suppose I could help you."

"Wonderful! I'll set everything up."

Papyrus placed the two children on the couch and sat between them with Chara on his left and Frisk to his right while playing the game. He was stuck in a rather difficult part in the sewers where odd frog monsters would pop out and attack his character. Try as he might, Papyrus couldn't escape the beasts and died repeatedly.

"Have you tried using your weapon?" Chara asked.

"I do not want to hurt them! What if they have family, friends, or a hot bowl of pasta waiting for them at home?"

"...You've gotten this far without killing anything?"

Papyrus nodded proudly. "Well, except for a single bird I had to kill in the beginning in order to progress. Other than that, these hands are dust-free! Even though... these monsters don't turn to dust."

"It's just a game," Chara stated somewhat loudly.

"I know this! But, still, I'd feel bad."

"You can only get past here if you survive. To survive, you have to kill them. They're in your way. They don't deserve your mercy."

Papyrus eyed the child curiously. There was something oddly familiar about their tone of voice. The way they spoke almost frightened the poor skeleton, but he couldn't show fear in front of Frisk. What kind of example would that set for them? Surely, the great Papyrus wasn't scared of a mere child, let alone a child that never did anything wrong.

"You have a very interesting way of thinking. Would you like to try it instead? Do not worry about messing up, for I have saved not too long ago!"

Frisk noticed how the corners of Chara's mouth twitched when Papyrus offered them a turn to play. Something about this felt sinister.

"I'd love to. Give me the controller."

It didn't take long for Chara to master the game's controls, and once they got a good feel for it, they went on a rampage with a steel pipe and a pistol. Every enemy they came across never lived to tell the tale, and their path to victory was soaked in green and red blood from both the monsters and the main character. With each kill, a small giggle escaped Chara's lips, and with each life they took, the sound grew louder until the final enemy they slaughtered was accompanied by rather enthusiastic laughter.

At last, Chara found the exit and made it back to the foggy surface of the game. Papyrus was glad, but he looked more or less bothered by the child's eagerness to kill.

"Amazing! You got through, and you only used one of my many health drinks. May I have the controller back now?" Papyrus asked kindly.

Chara nodded and handed the skeleton the controller. They looked satisfied by their actions.

A little over an hour passed, and Papyrus decided that the kids needed more stimulation that didn't come from a video game. He knew that their growing bodies needed exercise, and he had just the plan to get them up and going.

"Would you two like to go to the park with me?" Papyrus suggested. "There are swings and slides and other things for you to play on!"

Chara shrugged and looked over to Frisk. "I would not mind. Do you want to go?"

Frisk nodded excitedly and got up to put their coat and shoes on. Chara didn't really have a coat of their own, so they borrowed one of Asriel's.

Right before the trio was about to leave, there was a knock on the door. Like any responsible adult, Papyrus answered it. He was greeted by a man who was delivering Asriel's new mattress, as the boy didn't really have his own bed. Papyrus thanked the man and pulled the bed indoors, telling the kids that he'd set it up when they got home.

Once that was said and done, Papyrus scooped up one child in each arm; Frisk was in his right arm and Chara was in his right. He then left the house and embarked on his journey to the park.

Frisk and Toriel would often go to the park back in the summer. She would push them on the swings and help them cross the monkey bars when their hands would slip. It was a generally fun place to go, but Frisk wished that it was closer to home.

While Papyrus walked down the busy streets of the town, he received a few strange looks from the humans around him. They didn't seem comfortable with a monster being so close with a couple of children, especially since said monster was incredibly tall and was moving quite fast. Despite these looks and the murmurs that followed them, Papyrus could care less about what they thought. He knew Frisk and Chara trusted him, and that was all that mattered.

"We arrive!" Papyrus exclaimed, setting the kids down in front of the colorful jungle gym. "You two stay here for a moment. The great Papyrus must check for safety hazards."

Frisk did their best to hold back laughter as Papyrus inspected every inch of the play area. He got stuck going down one of the slides, and his hand slipped when he tried to climb the monkey bars, but after he finished up, he declared the area as safe and allowed the two to roam freely. Little did Papyrus know that there was a much older child in the area that had a heart colder than the snow beneath their shoes.

Like any normal child, Frisk immediately went for the swings and begged Papyrus to give them a push. Papyrus was more than happy to help his friend out, and when Chara saw how much fun the two were having, they joined in and had Papyrus also push the swing next to Frisk's.

Once the two got used to swinging, they told Papyrus that they could do it on their own. Papyrus agreed and took that time to check his phone. He sent Toriel a quick text saying that he took the kids to the park, and he also messaged Sans about how nice it would be if he had set up Asriel's bed by the time he got back home. Papyrus didn't expect him to actually do it, but it would be a lovely surprise if he even left his room to try.

While Papyrus was on his phone, an older child walked up to Chara's swing and demanded that they get off. Of course, Chara refused, and this made the other kid angry enough to forcefully pull them off the swing and onto the ground. Naturally, this caught the attention of responsible-adult Papyrus and he approached the bully with confidence.

"Excuse me, but that is my friend and what you did was quite rude. I would like you to apologise to them, please."

The child scoffed at Papyrus' words and took Chara's spot. "Up yours, you monster freak."

"Hey! That was much more mean that it needed to be. I'm going to say it again: Apologise for my friend."

Chara stood up and dusted themself off. "It is fine, Papyrus. This immature little brat isn't worth your time."

"Perhaps not, but I stand for justice!" Papyrus positioned himself in front of the bully and held the ropes of the swing so that they could not move. "Apologise. **Now.** "

"Make me, asshat."

Frisk could see Papyrus' expression change drastically with the child's words. He looked the same way he did when Frisk was nearly run over and he decided to talk to the driver. In fact, Frisk could have sworn that they saw his left eye glow orange for a moment.

"You are going to say that you are sorry," Papyrus grabbed the bully by the back of their shirt and held them close enough to look them in the eye. "or I _will_ make you."

"D-dude, I was kidding! Put me down!"

In his free hand, Papyrus summoned a rather sharp-looking bone and held it dangerously close to the child's neck. This was when things became scary for both them and Frisk. "Apologise. Or else." His tone was familiar, and not in a good way. It looked like he actually wanted to kill the poor thing.

"I-I'm sorry! Mommy! Let me go, please! I won't be bad anymore!"

"Much better." Papyrus put the crying child on the ground and watched them run away in fear. After this, the skeleton blinked and his demeanor returned to normal. He almost looked like he couldn't remember what he was just doing.

Chara tugged on Papyrus' hand. They had a blackhearted look in their eyes that Frisk wasn't fond of. It was the kind of look that was accompanied by a sinister plan. "I'm ready to go home now. Can we go?"

"Ehm... yes, we can. Come along, Frisk."


	42. Safe Keeping

The way Chara spoke and acted around Papyrus during their walk home was quite confounding. They were extraordinarily nice to him and spoke to him almost as if Chara was a normal person. This was rather astounding to Frisk, and it made the wheels in their head turn faster and faster. Why were they being so kind? Did they have something planned? Was it because they saw how intimidating Papyrus could be if he tried? Were they going to use his power to their advantage? Frisk didn't want anything corrupt to come of Chara's actions, so they stayed close to the nearly unemotional child in order to prevent bad things from happening.

By the time the trio arrived home, Sans made some progress on getting Asriel's bed upstairs. Instead of being in his room, as normally expected, he was fast asleep halfway down the stairs. This showed that he at least tried to do something, so Papyrus was pleased with his actions and sat his brother on the couch before taking the bed to its proper resting place. This left Frisk and Chara by themselves in the living room with a sleeping Sans.

Chara left the quiet and stale room and went to the kitchen to get something to eat; of course, Frisk wasn't far behind them. Chara found a packet of instant noodles that Alphys brought over, opened it, and proceeded to eat the block of plain noodles dry. The leftover flavor packet was then stuffed into the child's pocket.

"What? You never seen a hungry person before?" Chara asked Frisk in a marginally aggravated tone.

Frisk asked Chara why they didn't take the time to cook the noodles.

"What a stupid question. You said it yourself back in the underground: 'They're better dry.' You act like this is something you haven't done yourself."

Frisk sighed and decided to get the elephant out of the room by asking why they were being so friendly towards Papyrus.

"Is _that_ what you wanted to know? You seem to be forgetting that when someone helps you, you should be nice to them."

That was most certainly not the answer Frisk had expected. Was Chara being serious, or just pulling their leg?

"I see how you think, Frisk. You think that I am incapable of feeling grateful, yes? Well, you would be correct, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try. I may not care much for Papyrus, but I can at least show some courtesy."

The more Chara spoke, the more confused Frisk became. This was mostly out of Frisk's own fear-based ignorance that was built off of distrust and all the bad experiences with Chara. It couldn't be helped, especially since Frisk was just a child.

"Do I need to explain it? Fine." Chara took a deep breath and looked Frisk directly in their eyes. "I am my own person now. I... I didn't realize it at first, but, I am no longer connected to you. Back then, I was merely the result of all your actions. I was your consequence, and that was about it. I was bent on killing everything because I was made of your LV and EXP. I was incredibly distanced from emotion, even more than I am right now. However, because of your stupid and rather destructive decision, I have what seems to be my own soul. I have my own life to live now. I am no longer your bad choices nor your kills, Frisk. I am Chara- a resurrected child with a damaged look on the world, a healing heart, and a crooked view on emotions. I am not perfect, but I am me. Do you understand now, Frisk? Because I do. I understand so much now."

Before Frisk could let any of Chara's words sink in, Papyrus walked into the room and scooped Chara up by their sides.

"Did I hear you say that you are not perfect?" Papyrus asked Chara. "That is nonsense! Someone like you is especially perfect! Albeit, not as perfect as I, the great Papyrus, but perfect nonetheless."

"Thank you, Papyrus. You can put me down now."

Chara was placed back on their own to feet and Papyrus crouched down to get on eye-level with Frisk.

"Does Frisk need some encouragement as well?" Papyrus asked.

Frisk shook their head, but Papyrus wouldn't accept that as an answer.

"Whether you need it or not, know this: You are my beloved friend and the great Papyrus cherishes you dearly. I cherish Chara as well. I cherish all my friends, and I would do anything to keep them safe."

With that, Papyrus patted Frisk on the head and joined Sans on the couch to watch the news with him. Sans was still half asleep, so he didn't really react to what was on the screen at the moment.

Wanting to relax, Frisk cuddled up next to the tall skeleton and watched the program with him. Chara soon came in after and snuggled up next to Sans, effectively waking him up a bit more. The look on Sans' face when he found out that it wasn't Frisk getting cozy next to him was a mixture of panic and surprise that stayed there for a solid six seconds before he calmed himself down. He obviously didn't trust the kid, but he couldn't show his concern- not in front of his brother.

"In other news," the female reporter said, "there has been an unusual ketchup shortage happening in the local one-mile radius. The ketchup, whether in bottles at stores or packets at fast-food restaurants, seems to just disappear overnight after delivery and there has been no evidence of the thief at hand. However, at each scene, there has been a handsome amount of money leftover that more than covers the cost of the stolen condiments. Is this a prank, or a sign? More at three."

"How odd! Sans, that was not your doing, was it?" Papyrus asked his brother.

"Me? Nah. I'm too lazy to steal ketchup _and_ have the money to just leave there. I'd just wait for Toriel to come home with the good stuff."

"Sooooo... it _wasn't_ you?"

"Nope."

A commercial for toothpaste played, and Sans asked Papyrus if he could go into his room and find his yellow whoopie cushion. Papyrus agreed after some convincing, and after he left, Sans threw his jacket over Frisk and ordered them not to peak. Frisk didn't like the tone in his voice, so they obeyed just to not spite him.

"Listen here you little creep," Sans said to Chara, "I'm not sure what you're tryin'a pull here, but I ain't falling for it."

"I do not understand," Chara replied blankly.

"Sure you do. You think you have everyone here fooled by your little charade, but I know all about you. You're the one that killed my brother in another timeline. Frisk may have been the one to end his life, but you were pulling the strings. You dangled a reward in front of them and watched as they just went for it. Why should I not send you back to Hell?"

Chara sighed heavily. "You see, Sans, if you killed me, Toriel would not forgive you. Besides, it would take an awful lot of effort to kill someone as determined as I am. I'm almost as determined as Frisk when they broke the game just to deal their finishing blow on you whilst you slept."

Sans winced slightly at their words and tugged at his chest. He could still feel their cold blade dig into his ribs quickly and efficiently.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve? Does it hurt, Sans? Did it hurt knowing that you failed humanity and your little brother? I'm sure it stung like hell."

Frisk rustled underneath Sans' jacket, and Sans told them to stay put until he said otherwise. Frisk had a bad feeling about all this.

Chara's tone became increasingly bold, and the ecstasy they felt from getting on Sans' nerves was almost audible. "Now that I think about it, what kind of person just lets a homicidal maniac kill his one and only brother? That doesn't sound caring to me."

"You'll shut up if you know what's good for ya."

"If you really cared about your brother as much as you say you do, you would have protected him."

And just like that, Sans lost his temper and grabbed Chara with his telekinetic powers. He held them to the floor of the living room and readied several bone spears above them that he was going to send crashing down below.

"Sans, I could not find a yellow whoopie cush..." Papyrus exited Sans' room and ran downstairs after seeing what his brother was about to do. "W-what are you doing to the human?! Stop this right now!"

It was too late by them time Papyrus tried talking to his brother. Sans' attacks quickly went down to the child, and in a selfless act of heroism and foolishness, Papyrus jumped in the way of Sans' attack, thus saving them. From below, Chara could see that several of Sans' bones went clean through his chest cavity, and were assumingly fatal.

It was that day where Sans knew the true meaning of regret.


	43. Missing Questions

Everything in the house froze for what seemed like an eternity. It fell silent as the bones that went through Papyrus' shirt stuck out on the other side, but not enough to reach Chara. Papyrus was relieved that his friend was not hurt as far as he could tell, but Sans was one word away from breaking down. Not only was he under the assumption that his one and only brother was going to die, but the thought of it being by his own hand made Sans want to die more than ever before.

"O-oh my... Chara, are you uninjured?" Papyrus asked to the shocked child beneath him.

Chara nodded silently. They didn't know how to feel about what just happened, so they kept their emotions buried deep down in their chest.

"Well, that's a relief! I don't know what I'd do if I just let Sans hurt you. Oh!" Papyrus stood up, unfazed by the spear-like bones jutting out of his shirt, and gave his brother a stern look. "Sans! What do you think you are doing?! You could have really hurt them! What's the matter with you?"

By the time the taller skeleton finished his sentence, the bones faded away and left his favorite shirt tattered and torn. Other than that, he looked completely normal. He wasn't turning to dust, nor did his angry face falter until Sans gave him a proper response.

Sans played it cool and simply shrugged at the matter. "My hand slipped. It happened. You okay?"

Papyrus stomped his foot childishly. "Sans! Your hand does not slip when attacking, it doesn't work like that! It looked like you really wanted it hurt them."

"Excuse me, Papyrus," Chara started calmly, "I provoked Sans into attacking me. I hurt their tiny, lazy feelings."

"Oh... well then... both of you go to your rooms!" Papyrus pointed to Sans. "You're grounded for almost hurting my friend," the skeleton's finger moved from Sans' direction to Chara's, "and _you're_ grounded for making the laziest person on Earth want to harm you! Now, both of you, go!"

The two smaller beings went upstairs to their designated rooms, leaving Frisk and Papyrus alone in the living room.

Frisk had no idea that things could escalate so quickly while they were under Sans' jacket. The whole scenario seemed like a wicked fever dream that could have been induced by Flowey. They knew that nobody would want to talk about what just happened, so they chose to forget about the situation entirely and went to check on Papyrus, who had just sat down next to Frisk.

Papyrus sighed heavily as he flipped through television channels. "Wowie, what a day! I never thought I'd have to ground two people at once after have such a nice time outside."

Frisk asked Papyrus if they were hurt from Sans' attack.

"Hmm? Hurt?" Papyrus lifted up his tattered shirt, revealing that each bone that Sans drove through his chest had missed each and every one of his ribs, and his spine. "No, the only thing that is hurt is my Battle Body. I'll ask Toriel to fix it when she gets home!"

Sans sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at his hands. When he blinked, he could see that his fingers were soaking in a sticky, red liquid in another timeline. He could feel a cold blade trace across his ribcage when he thought about that demented little brat he almost killed. He almost could taste the odd red substance as it leaked down his face when he thought about Papyrus dying in a previous Save. Sans' thoughts and an assortment of timelines became almost indistinguishable when he was near Chara, and this made the skeleton wonder what they really were. Surely, Chara was not entirely human. Then again, he could tell that they weren't a monster, either. So, then, what were they? The only person Sans could ask this question to was Gaster, and they gave up their life to bring Asriel back. This fact got Sans wondering... was it still possible for him to communicate with Gaster?

Chara paced back and forth in Frisk and Asriel's room, avoiding the new beds that were in their. Chara knew that Sans could have _easily_ driven his attack straight through his brother to kill them, and yet, he didn't. Killing Chara was his goal, so why didn't he do it? Was it because he knew he'd hurt Papyrus in the process? Or perhaps he never really wanted to kill them? _No, that couldn't be it,_ Chara thought. _I could see the intent to kill in his eyes, and yet... he stopped._ Chara sighed and sat on the floor with their legs crossed. Something felt wrong. _Why the hell didn't he kill me?! I was right there! He could have done it so easily! Why... why?!_ The child groaned frustratedly and pounded their fist on the ground. _Why, Sans... tell me why..._ Without realizing it, Chara began to cry. Their hot tears streamed down their emotionless face and dripped onto their green sweater. These silent tears eventually formed to create soft sobs in self-loathing and emotional pain. These feelings were completely alien to Chara, so they handled them quite poorly by crying louder and louder until the sounds they made were nothing short of pain-filled wails. "Why?" Chara cried out. "Why do I want to die so badly?!"

Papyrus heard Chara's cries and went up to their room to investigate. When he opened the door, he saw the poor child bawling their little eyes out in the middle of the room.

"I didn't ground you too hard, did I?" Papyrus asked as he knelt by Chara.

Chara shook their head and attempted to calm their breathing, which had become rather erratic.

"You know, being grounded is not something you should want to die because of."

"You... you heard that?" Chara asked while wiping their tears away.

Papyrus nodded sadly. "I'm sorry. I should not have grounded you. I cannot blame you for acting so strange after being dead for so long."

"No, I deserved it." Chara stood up and looked Papyrus in the eye. "I should apologise to Sans, shouldn't I?"

"You should, but not right now. You're not feeling well if you feel... like dying. How about I un-ground both of you and make us something to eat?"

Chara nodded slowly and resumed their normal, stoic demeanor.

Soon enough, Papyrus prepared some cheese ravioli for everyone that was currently in the house. Frisk was the only one that seemed to be enjoying their meal, as Chara and Sans locked eyes, and neither of them blinked since they made eye-contact.

 _What are you hiding, you little freak?_ Sans wondered while staring into Chara's cold, dead eyes.

For some reason, Chara could more than clearly hear Sans' thoughts, as if they were being directly projected into their head. So, naturally, they responded. _I'm not too sure myself,_ they replied cockily.

Sans' eye twitched, and that was a telltale sign that he heard the child. _What are you, a psychic?_

Chara's mouth twitched into a smile for a split second as they shrugged. _I wouldn't rule it out._

Being quite pleased with their new trick, Chara finally took a bite of their food and complimented Papyrus on his work as a chef.

 _I mean, how are you even talking to me right now?_ Sans asked.

Again, Chara shrugged, and the smile on their face became more predominant. _Honestly, I have no clue. Figure it out, you filthy... Timeline Tracker._

As to not look conspicuous, Sans began eating his food as well. This made Papyrus very happy. _Is that the best name you can give someone like me? Wow. You're as imaginative as you are threatening._

"EXCUSE me?" Chara said aloud, thusly startling Papyrus and Frisk.

"Nobody said anything.." Papyrus said quietly.

Chara cleared their throat and continued eating as if nothing happened.

Out of the silence came a loud knock on the door, followed by a very excited Undyne bursting through it whilst dragging a confused Asgore behind her.

"I don't understand! What is all this about?" Asgore asked.

"Shut up and LOOK, ya big doofus!"

Undyne pointed to Chara and Asgore immediately fell to his knees. "You're kidding, right, Undyne? This can't be real... both of them... are back? How?"

"Frisk's the one that did it! You can thank them after you hug your other kid."

With tears in his eyes and without hesitation, Asgore ran to Chara and scooped them up in his burly arms. He couldn't even get a single word out, and his speech was mixed with crying and laughter.

"Did you miss me that much?" Chara asked blandly.

Asgore nodded. "I missed you and your brother more than anything!"

"I see.." Slowly, Chara attempted to hug back the best they could with such small arms. "I missed you too, Dad. I... I missed everything.."


	44. Our Demise

[ **Author's Note** : Just a quick PSA stating that this started out as a fanfiction that I wrote for fun and now I actually have to take it seriously because I have fans. Like, no, I'm _not_ a good author. Have you SEEN the earlier chapters? Yeesh. Sorry about those, guys.]

 **Trigger Warning:** _If you are triggered by suicide, please do not read this chapter._

As soon as Asgore realized that he wasn't really dreaming, Papyrus tapped his shoulder and asked to speak to him privately. Asgore nodded, handed Chara off to Undyne, and went upstairs with Papyrus.

"What is it, Papyrus?" Asgore asked in his deep yet comforting voice. "Is there something wrong?"

Papyrus scratched the back of his head as he thought of a proper way to word his request. "Well, as you know, I am very good at many things. Cooking, fighting, encouraging. Things like that, yes?"

Asgore nodded and smiled. "Yes, you are indeed very skilled in those areas."

"Indeed I am! However! I am not so good at other things... such as being a fatherly figure towards Chara, or how to deal with certain emotions of children that are not mine."

"Oh. Is Chara acting strange?"

Papyrus frowned. "They said things about wanting to die. I am unsure of how to go about convincing them otherwise because I do not know them very well and I'd rather not upset them. I figured that since you're Chara's dad, you'd know what to do."

Asgore could feel his chest tighten at Papyrus' words, but he kept his smile. "I see. Thank you for telling me this. By doing so, you have proven how good of a friend you can be."

Papyrus smiled cheerfully after hearing Asgore's praise. All he ever wanted was to be the best friend that he could be, and on that day, he got what he wanted.

While the old king and enthusiastic skeleton had their talk, Undyne decided to pick at Chara's brain. She put on a fake smile and tried to look as positive as possible, but no matter what she did, the heroine still felt a thick uneasiness hang over her head as she looked into the child's eyes.

"So, how ya feelin', punk?" Undyne asked as she playfully ruffled Chara's short, brown hair.

Chara shrugged. "I have a slight headache."

"Ah... okay. But, how about mentally?"

Again, Chara shrugged. "Numb. I can think clearly, but I cannot feel anything at the moment."

Undyne did her best to get a read on Chara's face to try and understand what they meant by that. They looked like your average child of about nine, but there was something about the smile they held that almost struck Undyne with a sense of panic. It felt as if she was looking at someone that did terrible things to her and so many other people. For a moment, Undyne's heart skipped as Chara rocked back and forth on their tiny feet while they awaited a response from her.

"Oh. But, aren't you human? Can't you feel your determination run through your veins? Doesn't that make your heart race?"

Chara shook their head slowly. "I can feel my determination, but it does not make my heart race. It makes me feel hopeless. Sometimes, I feel the urge to die, and yet, all I can do is live because of my determination. Could you imagine living like that, Undyne? Knowing that everything in this world is ultimately pointless, but for some reason, you can't bring yourself to make it all go away? No. Someone like you thinks that this life is worth living because of the people in it, but what you don't see is that they don't matter. They won't be with you when you turn to dust... or perhaps... when you melt."

Undyne felt a familiar pain in her chest when Chara finished speaking. For a moment, everything went black, and from the darkness, she could see a human child attempting to kill a monster child. This vision, to her, was all too real to just be something she imagined due to sleep deprivation. No, Undyne knew that it had happened before, but when?

Frisk tugged on Chara sleeve and quietly suggested that they not bring something like that up.

"Why not? She knows that you killed her in another timeline, so what's the point in keeping it a secret?"

Undyne cleared her mind and looked down at Chara and the demented smile they wore. "So... I melted when I died?" she asked nonchalantly. _It wouldn't hurt to ask, right?_ she told herself.

Chara nodded in an almost excited manner. "You were very determined for a monster. You refused to die, and even when you took your last breath, you had hope for this world."

Undyne knew that she couldn't react negatively to Chara's response; it would only make things awkward and more creepy than it already was. Instead, she chuckled and tried to act like her regular old self. "Oh, hell yeah! I knew I'd go out like that." Undyne gave one last pat to Chara's head before Asgore came back downstairs and scooped the child up to speak to them.

Undyne had a hunch that Chara was a textbook psychopath, and that very conversation proved it. They had a strange calmness about them, they seemed quite intelligent for their age, and they looked like they got a kick out of telling Undyne how she would die. The only thing off about it was how Chara said that they wanted to die. Psychopaths normally don't think about suicide at all, so this threw Undyne's profile of Chara way off of what she initially thought. _Maybe they have Asperger's and clinical depression,_ she thought. _That would explain their views on the world and why they want to go away._

Undyne went to tell Asgore about Chara's suicidal thoughts, but he informed her that he already knew of them.

Someone tapped Frisk on the back, causing the child to jump in reaction. When they turned around, they saw that the culprit was none other than Sans, who was smiling like an idiot. "Did I scare ya?" he asked.

Frisk huffed and shook their head, claiming that Sans had just caught them off guard.

"Hey, whatever makes you feel better about it, kid. But, listen, I wanted to ask you if your pal Chara has any... special powers I should know about."

With nothing immediately coming to mind, Frisk shrugged and asked why Sans would want to know about such a thing.

"Are you sure they don't have some weird psychic capabilities, because I coulda sworn that they were talking to me while we were eating."

Frisk told Sans that before Chara was separated from their body that they could hear their thoughts.

"Nah, I think it's more than that. Anyway, I'm going to work. See ya, bucko."

Once again, Frisk felt somebody poke their back, and this time, they jumped even harder than before because of all the tension in the air since Chara decided to agitate Sans.

"Do not fear, Frisk!" Papyrus said as he picked the small child up in his arms. "It is I, your friend Papyrus! I figured that since Asgore and Chara are playing that you, me, and Undyne could do some friendship bonding! Waddaya say?"

Frisk smiled and nodded, agreeing to Papyrus' request.

"Yeah! Let's DO this!" Undyne shouted from behind Papyrus. "Umm... what ARE we doing, Pap?"

"Well... I'm not sure yet. I just wanted to spend time with my friends. What do YOU want to do, Undyne?"

Undyne shrugged and looked at Frisk, silently asking them for suggestions.

Since Frisk had no ideas either, they were quite relieved when Asriel ran through the door and threw himself into Asgore's arms to be hugged with Chara. So, instead of just Frisk, Papyrus, and Undyne doing things together, everyone that was currently in the household eventually settled down and watched Papyrus and Undyne play a game with portals. Even though the game was puzzle-based, Undyne really liked the danger that was presented in the forms of acid, fire, and spikes.

Soon enough, Toriel came home and Undyne and Asgore took their leave as the queen of the household tidied up and prepared supper. Frisk was overjoyed that she was home because they knew that she'd never sneak up behind them and nearly give the poor child a heart attack.

Speaking of heart attacks, for the third time that day, someone decided to poke Frisk and nearly make them leap out of their skin. They turned to angrily face the poker, but calmed down when they saw that it was Chara, who had a smug grin on their normally bland face.

"Were you not expecting that, Frisk?" They asked quietly. "You seem quite jumpy today. Is it because of what happened to Papyrus? Is it because of what I told Undyne? None of those things matter, you know."

Frisk ignored their questions and asked why Chara wanted their attention so badly.

"Ah yes, that. I was wondering how you are able to stay so positive when you know all of the things that **I** do. You see, it just doesn't make sense to me, and I wanted to get a better understanding of everything."

Frisk told Chara that if things don't really matter, that they should make everyone as happy as possible before their demise. That, if we're all going to die one day, there's no point in being upset about it. Instead, we should make the most of what we have because it would be better to die happy than to die feeling worthless.

Without even giving them a proper response, Chara got up and went upstairs, claiming that they 'had something to do.' Frisk didn't like they way their voice sounded, so they followed Chara to their room after they were already inside. Upon opening the door, Frisk could feel their heart get caught in their throat, as Chara had a large knife held to their own neck.

"We should all die happy, right?" Chara asked as tears ran down their face.


	45. Second Chances

"What even am I, Frisk?" Chara asked with a noticeable waver in their voice. "I was brought back from death because of _you_ , I became stronger because of _you_ , and my soul only exists **because of YOU**."

Frisk did their best to stay calm and collected while explaining to Chara that they had their own life now, like they said before. Frisk was going to stall for time until someone came upstairs to see what was going on. Somebody would have to know that something was up, right? With that in mind, Frisk was ready to say anything to keep Chara safe.

"Is it _really_ mine? Is it? If so, then let me make my own choice for once."

Frisk meekly asked Chara to put the knife down.

"ALL of this happened because of you, Frisk. All of it. The monsters being free, Gaster coming back and dying again, Asriel being turned back into a monster, and now me. But we both know that I'm different. I was ONLY there to show you the consequences of your actions! I don't even remember what my life was like before I met Asriel." Chara stumbled back a bit and wiped the tears that flowed down their cheeks. "You made me this way. You gave me my independence. Please, let me do this."

Frisk spoke up and clearly asked Chara to put the knife down.

"And you're STILL trying to make my choices for me! Even now! Why is that? What makes you think that you have any right to do this? Is it because you brought me back? Do you think you're some sort of God because of everything you've done? No. I'll tell you what you are. You're a coward. You're a low, insignificant, sadistic little monster that's still toying with their game. Letting me die won't ruin your pacifist run, you know. You're not the one killing me. Like you said, I'm my own person. So, it doesn't matter, right?"

Frisk firmly told Chara to put the knife down.

At that point, Chara was trembling. They could barely even stand on their own two feet, let alone hold onto the knife. "Why... Why do I EVEN FEEL LIKE THIS? ARE **YOU** DOING THIS? AM I PART OF YOUR JOKES? Do you like seeing me suffer, hopelessly, as every single cell in my body begs for death, but my hand won't make the last move? I..." Chara fell to their knees with the weapon still loosely being clutched in their left hand. They stopped crying, but from the looks of it, they only stopped because of exhaustion. "I don't understand this feeling. I want to go away. I want the game to end. You can't understand how badly I hurt inside. I'm so cold... my limbs feel like stone... I was fine just a little while ago. What happened?"

Frisk could hear someone coming up the stairs and knew that this would be over soon, no matter who it was. They took slow, deep breaths and told Chara that they really do have their own life now, and because of that, they should live it to its fullest.

"Just stop, Frisk. I can't even move my arms now. I... I don't think I'll ever know what your true motive is, but I _do_ know that you gain nothing from keeping me alive. So... whatever the reason... it must be important."

At any moment, Frisk anticipated Toriel to walk up behind them, see Chara with the knife, and then run to their rescue. They waited and waited, but nobody came. When Frisk looked behind them, they saw that nobody was coming upstairs, and that Papyrus of all people was asleep on the couch with his brother. For a second, Frisk wondered what the odds were of that ever happening again, but they didn't have time to wonder. They had to get the knife away from Chara.

"This feels so strange, Frisk. I haven't felt like this since I fell down. I feel so alone... and yet, you're right here in front of me."

Seeing as Frisk would have to deal with this on their own, the child took a single, cautious step forward and awaited Chara's reaction. They hadn't moved, so Frisk inched their way over to them and carefully as they could.

"I don't even know how to feel anymore. I was so happy when I saw Asriel, and now I feel trapped in a dark, heavy pit of my own self-loathing. I shouldn't feel like this. I shouldn't feel like _anything_. I'm normally so numb, but today I felt so many different things. I was happy. I was frustrated. I was surprised. And now... I can feel myself slipping away. Any minute now, I'll just be a stone-faced psychopath with borderline personality disorder again. I'm sick, aren't I?"

Frisk shook their head and knelt in front of Chara before slowly taking the knife away from them and putting it in their own pocket. Now that the danger was gone, there was just one thing left to do.

Frisk chose to SAVE Chara.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Oh. I get it. You pity me, don't you? I should have expected this. You just wanted to get the knife away, and now, you'll be on your merry little way. What are you going to do now, Frisk? Are you going to help me downstairs and leave me with Toriel so that I'm off your back? That's why I'm here, after all. You worked so hard to get rid of me, so I understand if you just want to pass me off so that I can be someone else's problem."

Without saying another word, Frisk wrapped their arms around Chara and gave them a warm and loving hug, similarly to the one they gave Asriel before they left the underground.

Chara flinched at Frisk's touch and refused to hug back. "Are you trying to get me to let my guard down so that you can stab me yourself? I don't know why you'd want to do that. It would ruin your game, wouldn't it?"

Frisk tightened their arms around the confused child and gently rubbed their back in a soothing manner and caring. They knew that actions spoke louder than words, and if what they were doing meant anything, they could somehow convince Chara that they were more than just a part of Frisk.

Chara's breathing became staggered for a bit and their arms twitched, as if they unconsciously wanted to accept Frisk's kindness. "You're just making this harder for yourself, Frisk. If you become attached to me, losing me will only hurt more. It's best if you quit while you're ahead."

With no other ideas in mind, Frisk hummed a familiar tune and rocked lightly back and forth on their knees. The melody they hummed was something that Frisk recalled hearing when they gave a statue an umbrella to keep it dry. Frisk always thought that the tune was incredibly relaxing... so, maybe it would soothe Chara's wounded and fragile heart.

Not being able to take it anymore, Chara gave in to the emotions that overwhelmed them and hugged Frisk tightly, burying their face in the crook of Frisk's neck. "It hurts so much to do this... but, I can't stop smiling. I'm crying again, but I'm not sad. Do you really think I deserve a second chance at this? Do you think that I can be a good person if I just try?"

It was obvious that Chara was quoting Papyrus and Sans before they died in a different timeline. The fact that Chara remembered what the brothers said filled Frisk with determination, and, like Papyrus, they told Chara that they believed in them.

"You think so? Frisk... thank you. I know it's going to take a while for anything to actually change... and I know that I'll mess up... but, I promise that I'll try. And, to prove it, I'm going to apologise. I... I'm sorry for hurting you, Frisk. I'm sorry for making you go so far just to get rid of me."

Frisk accepted Chara's apology immediately. In order for them to get any better, Frisk had to show them that they could be trusted.

"I knew you'd accept my apology... although, I do not think that Sans will be so forgiving." Chara pulled away from the hug and rubbed their face on their sleeves. "Do you think you could help me earn his trust? I don't expect us to be friends, but we can't just let him see me like a demon forever."

Frisk nodded confidently, and for a second, the could have sworn that they heard an innocent giggle escape Chara's lips.

"Thank you, Frisk." Chara stood up and helped Frisk get on their feet as well. "C'mon. We've got work to do, partner."


	46. Rough Memories

Frisk, Chara and Asriel struggled to keep a large umbrella over their heads as they ran home from school. The month of April was full of pouring rain, and that made it difficult for the children to get home without their shoes and pants being soaked through. Luckily, Toriel invested in some rain boots for her children, along with the biggest purple umbrella she could find.

Once the trio arrived home, each of them went into autopilot and did what they did each day after school; Frisk prepared everyone's homework on the table for them to do for when they finished eating what Papyrus made for supper, Asriel called Asgore on the phone and told him about everyone's day, and Chara scribbled down some notes in their special notebook that they made specifically for keeping track of their emotions after they piled everyone's backpacks on the wall. This was a daily process that had each child switching roles every day to keep things from getting stale. The only thing that remained a constant from day-to-day were Chara's journal entries.

"Children, your food is ready!" Papyrus called from the kitchen.

"Oh. Dad, I gotta go. It's time to eat," Asriel told his father over the phone.

"I understand. I will speak with you another time."

Asriel hung up and went over to Chara, who was still writing in their journal. "Chara, food's done. You can write later."

"Understood," they said as they closed up the book before following Asriel to the kitchen. "Papyrus, what's for dinner?"

"I am glad you asked, Chara!" As the kids sat down at their spots at the table, Papyrus placed medium-sized plates of food in front of them. "Rigatoni with cheese sauce! I hope you all enjoy eating it as much as I did making it."

The kids thanked Papyrus for the food and began eating. In the past few months, Papyrus' cooking skill had drastically improved. He was able to cook three-course meals with little help and little mess. This was mostly due to Toriel and Asgore's cooking lessons every Wednesday, along with a surprising amount of help from Asriel. Since the child spent years as an immortal flower that had read, done, and experienced everything in the underground, he knew a thing or two about cooking.

While Frisk was eating, they couldn't help but notice how Asriel was staring at their soon-to-be-done homework. He was always quite intelligent as a flower, but ever since Asriel was brought back, it was as if their knowledge had somehow been enhanced. He was always the one to finish classwork and homework first, no matter who helped anyone else. Asriel would also randomly have bursts of intellectually mature statements before continuing to behave like your average child. Rather than concerning Frisk, it piqued their interest more than anything before. Was it because his soul was composed of Gaster's? Did that have something to do with how advanced he seemed? Frisk hoped that this wouldn't result in any complications with Asriel's life, as he seemed quite happy.

"Frisk? Are ya ok?" Asriel asked the zoned-out child. "You've been staring at your food for a long time now. Aren'tcha gonna eat?"

Frisk blinked and nodded before taking a bite of the pasta. They were proud of how far Papyrus came since their date in the underground. They remembered how terrible his spaghetti tasted and then tried to focus on the food that was on their plate. It was as if it had been cooked by an entirely different person altogether.

"Excuse me, Papyrus? Where's your brother?" Chara asked quietly.

Papyrus shrugged and scratched his head. "He said that he was going to work, but I'm pretty sure that he's in his room somewhere. Why?"

"I've been meaning to talk to him about something."

"Oh!" Papyrus pulled up a chair next to the child and sat in it, staring at Chara intently. "I am curious now! Therefore, it is only right if you tell me what you must speak to him about."

"I suppose that it cannot hurt to tell. Frisk, will you allow me to tell him?"

Frisk asked Chara why they needed their permission.

"You always seem so ready to stop me when I wish to talk about certain subjects since I lack the ability to understand what is and what isn't appropriate. I think it's best if you let me know. Despite being so quiet, you always know the right things to say."

Frisk nodded awkwardly to approve of Chara's explanation.

"Wonderful." Chara cracked their knuckles before turning to Papyrus and speaking. "I know that you remember saving me from Sans' attack and how I kept pushing him to hurt me. Since then, I have grown as a person. I try to make as many people at school as happy as possible, and I write down what I did to make them happy, along with how their smiles made me feel. I also did this with you, Frisk, Asriel, Toriel, Undyne, Mettaton, Napstablook, Asgore, and Alphys. I made you all smile at least once in these past three months. I did this by making up with you all and encouraging you. The only person that I have not made amends with is your brother, Sans. He seems... reluctant to see me as anything other than a bad person. Sans is the last person on my list because of this. I need him to forgive me, not so that I can check him off of some list, but because it's the right thing to do."

Papyrus was trying to play it cool in front of Chara. He wanted to sob with pride and hug them until his arms could no longer function properly. Alas, this would not happen, because he knew that Chara didn't really like to be touched. He learned this the hard way when he went to give them a surprise hug about a week ago and was immediately punched in the ribs.

"Um, Frisk? Dad wants to know if you can come over with me and Chara tomorrow. We're gonna have a sleepover!" Asriel exclaimed.

"Do you have permission from your mother?" Papyrus asked the small monster.

Asriel nodded excitedly. "Uh-huh! I asked about it the other day. She says that we can stay over there for the weekend and stay up late watching movies and playing and... and it'll be so much fun! Frisk, you gotta go with us."

Not wanting to let their brother down, Frisk agreed to the arrangement. It would be fun to spend some time with Asgore.

"Yay! Okay, I'll call him back when we're done eating. Then we can do this homework."

Chara let out an exaggerated sigh. "I still can't believe that we were assigned homework on a Friday."

"C'mon, Chara. It's not that much!"

By the time everyone had finished eating, Toriel came home and gave all the children, including Papyrus, and kiss on the head before filling out her usual paperwork for school. She promised to make chocolate chip cookies after the kids got done with their homework.

While the kids did what needed to be done, Papyrus went into the living room and turned on the news and found something quite horrifying. It brought back bad memories from years ago, and all he could think about was how long he had before he was forced to live underground again.

A female news reporter stood outside while a terrifying looking monster laughed maniacally in the background. It looked like a giant black snake with three heads that were covered in thorns. Anyone or anything that stood in its path was destroyed with ease. "As you can see, this is the monster that absorbed the human soul. Everyone is required to evacuate the area as soon as they can while officials handle the matter. If you are not in the area, it would be best to seek shelter, if possible."

Acting on instinct, Papyrus pulled out his phone and dialed Undyne's number as quickly as he could.

"Undyne here, what's up Pa-"

"UNDYNE, DID YOU SEE THE NEWS? IT'S TERRIBLE."

"News? Pap, calm down. What's going on?"

Papyrus could hardly control the unsteadiness in his voice. He didn't want to go back to the underground. As happy as he seemed down there, it was the one thing he truly hated. "P-please turn on the news, Undyne."

"All right. I don't see the big deal, bu-... but... oh my god... it's happening..."

"Undyne, I'm scared. I don't know what to do. I can't go back there. I just can't!"

There was a noticeable change in Undyne's voice. She went from normal, to shocked, to... determined. "Papyrus, stay home and watch the kids and Toriel. I'm calling Asgore. Just **stay safe**. I promise you'll live on the surface forever."

"I'll keep them safe. I promise!" Papyrus hung up and snatched the kids and Toriel away from everything they were doing. He told them about the situation and asked Toriel where the best place to be safe would be.

"The basement would be best," she responded.

"Everyone! To the base of ment! Oh, wait." Papyrus looked upstairs and spoke loudly. "Sans! If you're up there and if you can hear me, we're hiding in the basement! Stay safe, brother!"

Frisk never really liked the basement of the new house. There was nothing particularly wrong with it- it just felt off compared to the rest of the house. It was mostly white with just a few boxes and a window in it. It was a very safe place to be, but Frisk never _felt_ safe in it.

"Mommy, is everything going to be okay?" Asriel asked Toriel.

Toriel nodded and hugged her son tightly. "It will be fine, my child. Everything will be fine."

Chara tugged on Frisk's sleeve and whispered so that Toriel could not hear them, "Frisk. You've dealt with things like this before. Don't you think you should be able to do something about this?"

Frisk anxiously shrugged. They knew that Toriel would never let them leave the room, so there was nothing they could do.

"I'm just saying that with our combined determination, you, me and Asriel could end this."

Frisk tilted their head and asked how Asriel could possibly play a part in all this.

"Think about it. He's able to absorb souls and eject them just as easily. He's also had experience with having several souls in him at once. If he had both of our souls and determination, we could save everyone."

"I can hear you guys," Asriel stated. "And... I think we should do it."


	47. Biased Loss

"What on Earth are you three talking about?" Toriel asked her children.

Asriel and Chara were thinking as quickly as they could for some sort of excuse to get away from Toriel for them to carry out their plan. So many things needed to be accounted for, and they couldn't even come up with a legitimately decent way of telling their mother that they were going to become an all-powerful godlike being so that they could save their home, and potentially, a good portion of the human population. What would become of the human's bodies after Asriel absorbed their souls? Would this kill Frisk and Chara? Would Asriel be able to handle that much determination in his body? Was it even possible to return their souls to their bodies after absorbing them?

Chara nudged Frisk and whispered, "Before we do this, make sure you SAVE just in case something goes wrong."

Frisk nodded and then asked how they were going to execute their plan.

There was a pause. Chara gave Asriel a familiar signal that they would use back in the underground to tell him to distract Toriel so that Frisk and Chara could plot. Asriel nodded and told his mother about how scary the monster outside looked and about how he thought Asgore could defeat it with Undyne's help. The mention of Undyne got Papyrus involved, and with his voice being as loud as it is, Chara could easily speak to Frisk without being noticed.

"Listen to me and listen carefully," Chara started, "I'm not entirely sure if Asriel can absorb both of our souls while having our bodies be perfectly fine afterwards. When we carried out our plan all those years back, I was dead when he took my soul, and because of that, my body became nothing more than a corpse that could no longer be reanimated. For us to survive, he needs to absorb our souls along with our physical forms, thus allowing us to live and for him to be able to handle all the determination. He's going to need some incredible strength to take our souls _and_ our bodies while leaving us alive at the same time."

"Waddaya think, Chara? If Undyne had a human's soul, wouldn't she be unstoppable?" Papyrus asked the obviously uninterested Chara. "After all, she's the one of the strongest and most amazing monsters I know! Imagine her with all that power!"

The child shrugged. "I'm not sure if that's the type of mindset you should have, Papyrus. Just look at what happened to me and Azzy when we tried something like that."

"Oh. Sorry, it seems as though I had forgotten about that."

"It's fine. Just remember that sometimes, things only sound good on paper."

Papyrus blinked. "Paper? I did not write my idea on paper... did I? Toriel! Did I write this down?"

Chara turned to Frisk and then continued their explanation as if they had not been intervened. "However, this does not make it impossible. Do you remember Alphys' machine that you used to bring me back? I believe that with a few adjustments, the three of us can become one complete being that can also be separated once this is all over. The only problem is that I'm not sure if we can leave this room, and I've exhausted my idea resources. Do you have any thoughts on this, Frisk?"

Frisk had one idea on how to leave the house, but they didn't like it. It involved betraying their mother and going against her word. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time they had done something like that. If they hadn't done it before, Frisk would still be living with Toriel in the underground.

Frisk told Chara that their best option would be to tell Toriel the truth and just leave, like they did when they first fell down.

"Understood. Let us commence the plan, shall we?"

With their mind set on a goal in plain sight, Chara stood up and began walking towards the exit of the basement. Naturally, Toriel got up to stop them and asked Papyrus for assistance. Frisk and Asriel backed Chara up and were all hell bent on executing their plan, even though Asriel wasn't informed of it yet. He just knew to go with whatever Chara had in mind.

"Frisk, Chara, Asriel... my children, it is best if you stay down here."

Those words that Toriel uttered felt all too familiar to Frisk. They had flashbacks of their first run and how badly they wanted to leave to progress. It almost felt like a rush of nostalgia.

"Toriel is right! It's safer down here with the great Papyrus to protect you. Let's just stay put and make up some puzzles to pass the time."

Again, Frisk felt a rush of nostalgia wash over them. They remembered how keen Papyrus was on capturing them back then, only to become their best friend after failing.

Chara took a confident step forward, and the adults in the room stood guard at the exit. Chara took a deep breath and looked Toriel in her eyes. "Mother, this is for the greater good. We must leave so that we can stop that beast."

Toriel shook her head. "No. No, I am not losing you or anyone else today. I forbid it."

"We promise to come back!" Asriel exclaimed.

Papyrus folded his arms. "You are all such wonderful friends. The great Papyrus is only doing this because he platonically loves you all very much. I also promised to keep you all safe, and I dare not break my promises!"

Asriel tapped Chara on the shoulder. "I don't think they're gonna let us leave."

The child clenched their jaw in frustration. They knew that this had to be done, no matter what. Because of that fact, they were left with one option. "I'm sorry, mom..."

"Sorry for wha-"

Before Toriel could finish her her sentence, Chara ran past the two monsters and bolted out of the room to get to Alphys' house. Toriel ran after them and Papyrus stood in place to prevent the other children from leaving. Little did he know that Asriel was able to use fire magic, and the child made a wall of intimidating-looking yet harmless flames to move Papyrus out of the way, thus allowing him and Frisk to go after Chara.

Right before Frisk left the house with Asriel, they remembered to SAVE just in case things went south. It wasn't a perfect failsafe, but it was better than nothing.

By the time all three kids got to Alphys' house, Toriel had pressed her back against the door and was determined not to move an inch. Chara snorted at her actions and simply walked up to her.

"No matter what you say to me, my child, I am not going to let you in here. I don't know what you have planned, but I cannot allow you to carry through with it."

Chara sighed. "Isn't this a bit too familiar, Toriel? Don't you remember doing this exact same thing when Frisk wanted to leave?"

Toriel nodded solemnly. "Yes, I do remember."

"And don't you remember how that all ended? They just wanted to leave to get home, and they wound up saving everyone. Shouldn't you trust them by now?"

"I... No, I shouldn't! I can't lose anyone! I _won't_ lose anyone ever again!"

Losing control of her emotions, Toriel unintentionally let out a magical attack that just barely missed Chara. Frisk stood protectively in front of Asriel to shield him from any stray fire, and lost 2 HP. The flames faded out in a winding pattern and left charred marks on the ground.

"Mother, you're being unreasonable. Please, let us-"

The ground beneath their feet began to shake as a large, black creature in the distance twirled and wound across the Earth's surface. It was the snake monster from before, and it was getting closer to their location. Chara knew that they were running out of time.

Acting on motherly instincts, Toriel scooped up all three of her children, broke down the locked door to Alphys' house, and pulled them inside for safety. Chara saw that the door to the basement was wide open, so they squirmed out of Toriel's arms and darted towards it, shouting about how they'd be safer in there. Toriel followed them and was eventually lead to the location of the machine Chara so desperately seeked. They looked at the control panel and raised a brow, wondering how any of it worked.

Toriel placed Frisk and Asriel back on their feet and looked around the room, only to find a note left by Alphys. The note read, "To Undyne: I know that you're going to check down here when you get home. I just wanted you to know that I'm OK. Bratty and Catty needed a safe place to stay, so Mettaton, Napstablook and I decided to get them as far away from here as possible. Call me when you see this, OK? I'll make it home right away once you do."

Chara told Asriel to look at the control panel to see if they could make any sense of it. He stood on his toes and ran his eyes through every inch of every button and switch on it. You could see his thoughts click once they got a good look at everything. Just like Chara assumed, Asriel was incredibly familiar with these sorts of things because of Gaster's soul.

"What do you need me to do, Chara?" Asriel asked.

"We need to ensure that all of our souls and physical matter are absorbed into your body so that we can be separated later with little to no complications. I believe that becoming all-powerful is the only way to stop that... thing."

"That's enough!" Toriel shouted as she tore Asriel away from the control panel. She had been reduced to tears and was shaking horribly. "I know that your hearts are in the right places... but I cannot allow this! Undyne and Asgore have it covered. We just need to wait."

"Undyne and Asgore don't stand a chance in hell if that thing has a human soul!" Chara explained. "And from the looks of it, it seems to have absorbed more than one. We can't just stand by and watch our friends and the town, and maybe even the world, get slaughtered! Please... if anything goes wrong, Frisk SAVED not too long ago. Just let us do this!"

Having no further reason to keep holding on, Toriel put Asriel down and let her head hang low. She spoke in a low, defeated voice that Frisk had never heard before. "I'm trusting you all to come out of this alive. Be good, won't you?"

Chara and Frisk promised that everything would be all right as Asriel adjusted a few settings on the control panel. The sliding door to the machine then opened, and the children stepped inside. Chara held Frisk and Asriel's hands tightly and squeezed their eyes shut as they waited for something to happen. They looked terrified, but the fact that they were going through with is meant the world to Asriel and Frisk.

"I'm going to keep you all safe," Asriel said softly. "I promise."

Everything went white and the trio felt a jolt of electricity run through their bodies before they went almost completely numb. Frisk felt sick to their stomach because the world kept spinning violently around them, but they held onto hope. They held onto the thought of everything turning out for the better. They held onto Chara's hand, which seemed to fade away, along with the rest of their body. Frisk felt hot and their head was pounding as they were pulled into Asriel's growing body. It was unlike anything they had ever felt before, and they prayed that it would be over soon.

The last thing they told themself before they fell out of consciousness was to stay determined, and that's exactly what they did.


	48. Unreasonable Behaviour

_Sometimes... even the greatest people shall fall, because below them... is something they simply must find._

Asriel opened his eyes and blinked a few times to adjust to the brightness of the strange machine's insides. It was much smaller than he remembered it being, and he soon realized that this was because he had grown after absorbing Chara and Frisk's souls. He was roughly eight feet tall, and his horns barely touched the top of the cylinder. His clothes resembled his own father's, as they were a luxurious purple with a thin cape flowing from the back. From what he could tell, he was back in the form he took when he first fought Frisk as 'himself'.

As he regained feeling in his limbs and torso, he could feel something burning deep within him. It was an entity that felt reminiscent of many years ago in a failed attempt at freedom. Once again, he and Chara were one being, and he could sense their thirst for power that hadn't changed since last time. As he felt Chara's urge to go out and destroy the monster that was plaguing the world, another sensation swept over his being. This feeling was incredibly similar to Chara's, as it burned with the same passion and power. However, it did not seek destruction nor did it feel power-hungry. It was a gentle yet dominant sensation of hope and understanding. It was the desire to do the right thing, no matter what. This feeling was Frisk's soul resonating within Asriel as it strived to protect humanity.

Asriel closed his eyes and focused on the other beings within him. "Can you two hear me?" he asked in his now deeper, more pubescent voice.

Within the depths of his consciousness, Asriel could hear Chara responding to him. "This is just like old times, right Azzy?"

Asriel nodded. "Except everyone is coming out alive this time. Oh! Frisk? Are you there?"

Instead of getting a direct response, Asriel 'felt' Frisk nod anxiously. The experience was unlike anything the child could possibly imagine. They felt like they _were_ Asriel, but instead of being in control, they had a small influence over how he decided to act. They knew that if they _really_ wanted control, they could take it, but that was not their choice to make.

"If you're done standing around, can we go save everyone?" Chara asked impatiently.

Frisk agreed with Chara's notion to get moving.

Asriel hooked his claws under the edge of the door and slid it open. The moment Toriel laid eyes on him, you could see her expression go from worry, to panic, and then to relief as Asriel explained that the others were fine.

"What are you going to do now, my chi-... children?" Toriel asked meekly.

"I'm going to stop this madness and I'm going to come out of it alive. Stay safe for me, mom."

Toriel nodded optimistically and Asriel used his powers to lift himself off the floor and literally fly up the stairs and out of the house. He then soared high into the sky to get a better look at what he was up against. Sure enough, the monster was about a mile away and was thrashing its long, spiked body across the town to purposely destroy as many buildings as possible. Not wanting to waste anymore time, Asriel flew towards the beast and stopped in front of its three heads. Up close, it was a bit smaller than he expected, with each head only being slightly longer than Asriel's body, and the length of the beast being only a quarter of a mile long. Down below, Asriel could see Undyne and Asgore attacking at full force, but their efforts proved fruitless as every spear and flame bounced off of its body.

Asriel knew that he had to get the monsters attention so that it wouldn't crush anything or anyone else.

"Hey!" Asriel shouted, causing a shockwave of bright red energy to erupt from his mouth. This was enough to get the monster's attention, as it leveled all three of its hideous heads to get a good look at whom interrupted it.

"You're quite the powerful one, aren't you?" The monster said in a deep, echoing voice that reverbed as each head spoke in sync. Their forked tongues flicked with delighted when they saw how livid Asriel looked. "Are you jealous? That I am destroying everything on my own? Fuhuhu..."

Chara immediately wanted to end everything with one firm lightning bolt that would be struck through the beasts foul head. They wanted Asriel to call on Chaos Sabre and slice it to bits. They wanted to take control of every star in the sky and shred the monster into confetti. They would have done those things if it wasn't for a certain someone that refused to kill.

Asriel began to speak in a calm, collected tone. "Listen. I don't know why you're doing this, but you need to stop. Can't you see that you're hurting innocent people? Don't you understand that this is why we were forced to live underground in the first place?"

The beast scoffed with the two heads on either side as the middle one chuckled. They regained composure and spoke in unison once more. "You are incredibly foolish. We were put underground for who we are. We cannot change what we can do with our souls. The humans cannot change the fact that their souls are incredibly powerful, and thus an easy source for us weaker beings to prey upon. It is the humans' faults, not ours. They deserve to perish. They deserve **hell**."

Before Asriel could let out a retort, the monster quickly and violently swung its middle head at Asriel, sending them crashing down to Earth with Undyne and Asgore. The two looked... shocked, to say the least. However, Asriel knew that he didn't have time to explain, so he flew back up to get his point across.

Channeling the nonlethal and restraining capabilities of Frisk's soul, Asriel called on a single one of his Chaos Sabres and pointed it menacingly at the enemy's head. "If you do not relinquish any and all human souls within you, then I will be forced to take them from your body."

"Tch. Arrogant child. You do not have such a power. You don't have the guts to do anything to me, and I can feel in inside one of those souls you've got. It's weak and pitiful, just like you."

Asriel inhaled deeply. "This is your final warning. Stop it now."

"Or else what? You gonna give me a paper cut? Aahahaha!"

Asriel exhaled slowly. "Frisk. I need your strength. Be sure **no** hit is fatal."

Frisk told Asriel that they had it covered, and not long after that, a series of multicolored flames erupted from underneath Asriel. His expression grew serious, and between his horns emerged a fiery crown made of the same flames he created just seconds before.

"Chara!" Asriel called out, "Lend me your fury! Your hatred!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Chara responded charmingly.

Bright white flames flared out of the edges of Asriel's Chaos Sabre, and with one swing, the mythical blade dug its way into the once-scoffing monster's flesh, leaving a nasty wound on the side of its middle head. The monster coiled back in horrific pain and screeched loudly as bit of its face literally melted away. The exposed flesh leaked a disgusting green liquid, and the cut sizzled with the heat of the blade. If Chara had not have lent Asriel their fury, the sword wouldn't have even left a scratch. If Frisk had not made Asriel hold back, the monster would have been torn clean in half. Their combined efforts seemed to be paying off up until the other heads lashed out at Asriel. They opened their jaws and swung their fangs in Asriel's general direction, but their own coordination needed to be improved upon, as the heads only nicked Asriel and did more damage to each other than the goat monster.

" **YOU BASTARD** ," the middle head shouted as the others argued with themselves. "HOW? I AM A GOD! INVINCIBLE! And yet... so easily... you harmed me."

The flames that surrounded Asriel calmed down, but the sabre remained in his hand. He could feel Frisk's desire for mercy flow through him. "You still have a chance at redemption. Give up now."

The monster stopped writhing in pain and slowly made its way towards Asriel. Its eyes were full of hatred and pulsated between the colors red and yellow. "No. What I still have a chance at is **vengeance**. Drop your weapon or be reduced to ashes, hell spawn! I know what you are. One of your souls is corrupt."

Asriel could feel Chara's thirst for destruction wash over his being. He raised his free hand to the sky and called on Shocker Breaker. The cloudy sky above him grew into a dark and malicious black in mere seconds, and not long after that, an enormous crack of lightning shot down and struck the middle head. Its body twisted and convulsted rapidly as the electricity surged through its body.

"I can do this all day," Chara said through Asriel's mouth. "You're no match for someone as determin-"

The beast recovered from the attack much quicker than anticipated, and while Asriel was monologuing, it lunged at him and clasped its jaw around his lower body. Asriel could feel something flow into his bloodstream and assumed it was some form of toxin, but thought nothing of it at the moment.

Acting quickly, Frisk took control of Asriel's body and shot flames into its mouth and throat, causing him to be released. These flames, however, were not controlled, and had severely burned the inside of the monster's mouth. The fire was so intense that they made their way up to its brain and had disabled the middle monster's head. Seeing as that was the head in control of everything, the human soul was released and could be seen flying freely towards the sky. The monster then shriveled up into a rather unintimidating snake on the ground that slithered helplessly away. Asgore and Undyne looked up at Asriel and cheered proudly.

Still afloat several hundred feet in the air, Asriel breathed heavily. "We... we did it! That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be... it... it wasn't..." The world around Asriel began to spin violently and black patches moved their way into his eyesight. "Guys? What's... happening? I don't feel good..." Asriel clutched at the wound in his abdomen. It was rather shallow, but it was coated in a sickly green liquid with a smell that made him gag. "Oh no... Frisk? Chara? I can't... I'm going to..."

The venom made its way quickly through Asriel's body and had locked up his muscles causing him to fall out of the sky as he drifted out of consciousness. Sadly, neither Frisk nor Chara could do a thing. Since they were all one being, all three children were poisoned as well.

Frisk hoped that they would pass out before they hit the ground.


	49. Terrible Lies

It was hard to tell if Asriel was in any pain by the time he was back on solid ground. His eyes and mouth were shut, and he was no longer grasping at his still-bleeding wound. The child drifted in and out of reality as the two humans within him pleaded for him to stay alive. They could all feel the venom flow through his body and overtake most of his bloodstream, turning it into a thick, black liquid that pooled around him. The pain that they all felt before had vanished, but they knew that they were most likely mortally injured.

Asgore and Undyne ran over to Asriel's body and froze in fear. He appeared to be talking to himself whilst unconscious, but not all of the voices that came from his mouth were his.

"I'm... such an idiot," Asriel whined softly, "I should have known something like this would happen."

" _H_... hush," a second voice said quietly. Asgore immediately recognized it as Chara's. "We'll be fine. I won't leave you again."

After seeing the injury Asriel had sustained, Asgore picked his son up in his arms. "Undyne," he started in a monotone voice. "I'm taking him to the hospital. Go make sure Toriel is all right. Be sure to call Alphys as well."

Undyne nodded and darted off towards home, pulling out her cellphone as well. She dialed Alphys' number as quickly as she could and waited for her to pick up.

"H-hello?" Alphys answered softly. "Undyne? Are you a-alright?"

"I'm fine, babe," Undyne said as she vaulted over a part of a destroyed home. "I'm headin' back to our place. Are you safe?"

"Y-yeah! I'm just outside of town with Bratty, Catty, MTT and Napstablook."

Bratty could be heard shouting on the other end of the line. "I heard my name~!"

"Oh my god, me too!" Catty exclaimed.

"Alphys, you still there?" Undyne asked.

"Huh? Yeah! Yeah, everyone's safe. I saw the monster go down. I'll be home shortly."

"Gotcha. Love you," Undyne said out of impulse before hanging up.

Alphys had dropped her phone, and her hand lingered next to her ear as Undyne's words echoed in her mind.

"Al? Are you, like, ok and stuff?" Catty asked the trembling lizard monster.

Alphys nodded quickly as she stared off into space. "Undyne... she... she loves me. I... we have to go home right this instant. I'll take you girls home, too."

Meanwhile, Asgore was bolting through the town as fast as he could. The monster couldn't remember the last time his heart was racing that fast, or the last time he was moving so quickly that each step launched him about six meters forward.

"D...Daddy...?" Asriel murmured, "I'm... sorry... I just wanted... to save everyone..."

Asgore breathed heavily and choked back the tears that formed in his eyes. He almost felt like giving up at that point. "It's alright, everything is going to be fine. I promise you'll make it through this."

"He's lying," Chara said coldly. "We're hurt real bad."

"Chara, I can't believe you'd do something like this!" Asgore exclaimed. "It's just like last time, but I'm **not** giving up. You two will **not** die."

Asgore vaulted over pedestrians and cars alike with ease. Everything around him was blurred, and he was relying mostly on memory to get to the hospital.

Within his dying child that he cradled, he could hear a third voice trying to speak. It was much softer than the others, and it spoke kind words of hope and the power of never giving up, no matter what. Despite the hopeful words, what they said only made Asgore feel worse.

"Frisk?! You're in there too?! I can't believe this! Toriel's going to murder me, I'll never see my children again, I'll..." Asgore's movements completely halted as he fell to his knees and began to sob, still desperately clutching Asriel's body of many souls. "I can't live like that... I'm such a pathetic creature, I can't even protect my own kids!"

Asriel reached up to tug on his father's shirt. "Dad... you can't give up yet," the child grumbled as confidently as he could. "As long as I keep holding onto hope, I can keep Chara and Frisk safe. This is your chance to... make it up to Mom. Please... stay determined."

Silently, Frisk asked Chara how it was possible for hope to keep them alive.

"Don't you remember reading all the books at the library? Monsters' bodies are attuned to their souls, and in turn, are a reflection of their emotions. Hope is _literally_ the best medicine for a monster. Remember when you fought Asgore, and once you told him to stop fighting, his attack and defense dropped? Since he didn't want to fight anymore, his body and his soul became weaker. So, by Asriel keeping hope, we can survive, but not for long. Unlike monsters, human bodies have strength depending on density and tolerance. Now that Asriel is part human, hope alone won't keep us alive forever. We _have_ to get to the hospital."

Frisk was a bit confused as to why Chara suddenly seemed to care about what happened to them. After all, they sounded hopeless just a minute ago. Frisk wondered what changed their mind.

Asgore stood up and growled deeply. "You're right, Asriel. I can't give up! I _won't_ give up! I never have before and I'm not going to start **now**."

With that, Asgore continued sprinting at the same speed he was going at before, and possibly even faster. The hospital was in sight, and he could feel his heart pounding against his burly chest with the force of a thousand drums.

Meanwhile, back at Alphys' house, Undyne had just made it home in time to find Alphys and Mettaton attempting to comfort Toriel in the living room. Surprisingly, they were doing a pretty good job while Napstablook sat silently on the couch.

"I-it'll be fine!" Alphys insisted. "If they fused together like that, then I'm positive that I can b-bring them back good-as-new."

Mettaton nodded and added, "They're very smart children, darling. Everything is going to be fine."

Undyne didn't know what to say at that point. She had to tell Toriel what had happened to the kids, right? She couldn't just hide it from her, after all. She deserved the truth, but at the same time, she didn't want to worry the poor old woman.

Napstablook cautiously approached Undyne and tapped her on the shoulder. "Undyne? Is... everyone alright?" he asked.

"Oh. I..." Undyne glanced over at Toriel, who was on the verge of tears. Saying something about it now would just break down what little hope she had left.

Undyne directed her gaze back to the shy bot and smiled confidently. "Yeah! Everything's good, don't worry about it."

It pained her to lie so blatantly like that. Undyne felt like she had been stabbed in the chest because of what she said, but she knew that it was for the best. After all, Asgore was taking them to get help. So, it wasn't really lying if they were going to be fine, right?

At the hospital, the emergency room was filled with human and monster patients alike. There was a variety of injuries for each species, ranging from sprained ankles to broken bones, but none of them looked nearly as bad as Asriel did with his oozing wound and current soul capacity. Every doctor and nurse seemed busy, aside from a young woman at the front desk.

Immediately, Asgore ran up to the front desk and demanded assistance. The small, quiet woman behind the counter told him that because of how many people that were there, he had to wait.

"Please, my son is in dire need of assistance. This wound is nearly fatal! He just needs to be stabilized for now."

"I'm sorry, sir. All of the rooms are full. There should be one open in an hour or-"

Asgore slammed his fist on the desk, shaking the room slightly. "He needs help. Now." His voice went from reasonable to dark and almost menacing in mere seconds but he quickly composed himself.

"Sir, please. Just wai-"

Asgore exhaled a puff of hot fire and looked the girl dead in the eyes before speaking. He stood stoic and held his free hand over Asriel's wound. "My child is dying. You either get help now, or I'm going to make your day very, very **bad**."


	50. Your Fault

Sans tapped his fingers on his bed while he listened to his brother impatiently pace downstairs. He could hear his taller brother mutter about how he couldn't keep his cool friends safe and how he hoped they would be all right. Every now-and-then, he would assure himself that they were too strong to ever get hurt, but deep down, Papyrus knew that it wasn't entirely true.

The shorter skeleton stood up a stretched, cracking his neck a bit to relieve some tension. Unlike Papyrus, he knew that if something went horribly wrong, Frisk would just load from their last save point. Of course, they would only do this if they died as a last resort, so for all Sans knew, Frisk could be holding on with 0.00001 HP simply because they refuse to use their power. The thought of it made Sans chuckle.

"Brother, are you up there?!" Papyrus called from downstairs.

Sans stuck his head out of his room and nodded before quickly retreating. He needed peace and quiet to concentrate on something that had been bugging him ever since Frisk confessed to killing everyone in another timeline.

"It's not their fault," he whispered to himself. "No, it couldn't have been. It wasn't Frisk." He paced around his room with his hand over his permanent grin, tapping his cheek occasionally with a finger. "It couldn't have been that little... weirdo, either. No, they're just pissed at humanity. Being angry doesn't make you a killer."

Several minutes passed, and Sans had walked more in his room than he possibly ever did back in the Underground. His thoughts were burning a hole in the back of his skull, and dozens upon dozens of theories swirled around in his head like a violent tornado until finally, he found the most plausible answer.

Sans chuckled and spun on his heel with his eyes closed, turning to face you.

To face... _you_?

Yes. You.

"I know what you did, kiddo. Well... maybe not _you_ in particular, but... chances are... **one of you did it.** Not Frisk. Not Chara. **You**. You were the one controlling them, weren't you? You were the one that made them kill anything and everything they came across; like some sort of sick puppet-master. Don't gimme that look, you know what you did. And, I know that a lot of you try to blame it on Chara. Well, guess what? Chara wasn't the one pressing the buttons on your keyboard, were they? They weren't the one that would try and skip past my dialogue or save the pie until facing Asgore. That was all you, and because humans don't like taking responsibility for their actions, you blame it on poor little Chara because they called themself a demon. If you ask me, pal, _you're_ the real demon here."

"Sans! I'm going next door now, the tension is killing me," Papyrus shouted before leaving the house.

Sans shrugged. "I guess I better get going, too."

Right before he left the house, Sans looked back at you one last time with his hollow, black eyes, and spoke slowly. " **Just let him be happy. Got it?** "

* * *

The once-bustling and noisy hospital quickly became silent under Asgore's influence. The large monster towered over everyone else in the building, and he was using his intimidating stature to do what needed to be done. Asgore knew that there would be consequences for his actions, but his children were more important to him than whatever punishment awaited his future.

The woman behind the counter shakily gestured Asgore to a male nurse, who took him to a room with a human in it. The male nurse went over to the human that sat upon the bed and calmly escorted them out so that Asgore could lay his son on the bed. The male nurse, whose name turned out to be Isaac, then told Asgore that it would be best for him to leave the room while he and a few other people stabilized Asriel.

Asgore shook his head and spoke solemnly. "Sir Isaac, I am not leaving them."

Whilst several other doctors rushed around the room to help Asriel, Isaac scratched his head in confusion. "Them? Are they one of those special genders? If so, I still need their biological sex for medical purposes. A man can't have a punctured uterus, you know." Isaac smiled to try and lighten the mood, but Asgore did not appear amused.

Asgore closed his eyes and shook his head. "Asriel... my biological son... he absorbed two human souls of children named Frisk and Chara to stop that other monster from destroying everything."

"O-oh! There's more than one of them in there, then. You... you _do_ know that absorbing souls has been made illegal since the events of 201X, right?" Isaac stuttered.

Asgore nodded slowly. "Yes, I understand. But, they are minors, so I shall take full responsibility for their actions."

Isaac scribbled down a few things on a clipboard he had before helping his peers tend to Asriel. They thoroughly cleaned his wound and had a blood bag along with an IV hooked up to him. From the things the doctors were saying, Agore concluded that the poison in Asriel's body would not kill him, and that they needed to sew up the wound.

It was difficult for Asgore to know that after his son would be well, he himself would most likely be sent to prison for his actions. It was for the best, but it would **not** be the best thing for Toriel to find out about. She would probably be even more upset with him, but Asgore kept a bit of hope in his heart that she would understand that he only did it for their children.

At last, Asriel was stable, and Asgore was permitted to speak with him. The humungus boss monster did his best to sit down in a tiny hospital chair next to his son, and before he could even open his mouth, he could already hear Asriel talking to the two souls inside him.

"See... Chara?" Asriel groaned quietly. "I told you... we would make it this time."

"It doesn't change the fact that we're still going to need a long period of time to recover from this," Chara said in a cocky tone. "I do not understand why Frisk just doesn't load their file so that we can do this over without being hurt."

Frisk told Chara that they would only use their powers for emergencies, and that since they weren't dying anymore, they didn't need to load.

"I understand where you're coming from, Frisk. I really do. But, wouldn't it be better that way? So that Asgore wouldn't have to go to jail or something? So that Asriel won't be in so much pain?"

Frisk stood their ground on their claim. They didn't want to freak out Sans or have something else go wrong.

"You don't understand, Frisk," Chara growled. "Asriel is hurting! He might not be close to death, but he's in a lot of pain! Please, just load already."

Again, Frisk refused to listen to Chara.

Something felt off that that point. Frisk felt incredibly weak, but at the same time, they could feel a much stronger power resonating in Asriel's body. It was a burning, compassionate feeling that they had grown to familiar to. It felt like the same sensation you get when you know you can't give up, no matter what.

"No... We have to go back!" Chara cried out, causing Asriel's body to jerk straight up. "I have to! I'm **determined** to go back!"

And just like that, everything went black. Frisk opened their eyes and realised that they were back home in their human body, back at their SAVE point in the living room, and back before they defeated the monster. Somehow, Chara had become so determined that their powers had overwritten Frisk's. This was a problem, and Frisk knew that it would only get worse if Chara decided to erase everything. Frisk couldn't let this happen, and they were going to do everything they could to prevent something as horrible as that.

Frisk ran quickly out of the house and after Chara, who was trying to convince Toriel to let them in Alphys' house. Frisk tapped them roughly on the shoulder and told them that what they did was wrong.

"So? Does it matter if it was wrong or right? The only thing that matters is Azzy."

Asriel asked Chara what they meant by that, and from their question, Frisk concluded that he had no memory of Chara deciding to load everything back up. It seemed that only beings filled with determination could remember.

Frisk told Chara that they wouldn't go along with this plan if Chara's determination was like this.

"Oh? Are you afraid that I'll reset or something? Do you think you're entitled to that sort of power? No. I won't reset. With this power, I'm going to keep Asriel safe forever. Besides, my determination alone is enough to kill that thing."

Frisk couldn't really think of any other reasons to have Chara relinquish their new abilities, other than not killing the monster. They wouldn't reset because of Asriel, but something about the whole situation didn't feel right. Was it jealousy? Or was it in Frisk's nature to try and save every living thing they could, no matter what?

Chara turned to face Frisk and began laughing hysterically while staring sadistically at them. "Tell you what. I'll let you have your way... if you can get passed me."

* Chara blocks the way!

Fight ❤Act Item Mercy

❤Check Talk

* Chara the Determined  
* ?̩̜̳̯̋̅ͅ?͔̣̞̗̟̐̐ͅ?̗̙̑̑͐ Attack, ?̩̜̳̯̋̅ͅ?͔̣̞̗̟̐̐ͅ?̗̙̑̑͐ Defense

* Determined to keep Asriel safe.


	51. Real Death

Between Chara and Frisk's battle, Toriel's attempts to keep everyone out of harm's way, Asriel's cries for some sort of answer as to what was going on, and a storm of fire and destruction coming from the monster that had been killed in another timeline, it would seem as if all hell had broken loose. This was nothing like Frisk had imagined when they decided to free the monsters. They knew that things wouldn't go perfectly, but having to fight a human that was filled with determination that had also been brought back from the dead due to a killing-spree while a nearly unstoppable beast raged in the distance was certainly not something they planned on dealing with in the future.

Any and all of Toriel's attempts to break off the fight between the two humans were futile since Asriel wouldn't let her interfere on claims of there being a chance for her to be accidentally killed by Chara. After all, if Chara struck with the intent of taking a life, and if Toriel got in the way of said strike hit, she would surely die. Asriel knew this fact and would rather not be without a mother, even though he knew Frisk would just go back to their SAVE point. What Asriel didn't know, however, was that Frisk no longer had that type of power.

Chara swayed side-to-side decisively with their arms swinging lazily below them and their head and eyes locked in place to keep a good visual on their target. They had a fixed, wicked grin on their face that resembled a certain skeleton's immobile smile, but was drenched with ill-intent. Their eyes were wide and unmoving on Frisk's position. At any moment, they would have attacked, but they were waiting for Frisk to make the first move.

Frisk went to open their mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off by the child blocking their way.

"You must think that you are a special creature, do you not? Why else would you try to stop someone as powerful as me, even though I have no intent on damaging this timeline? I think that I am beginning to understand why you do all this. You think that even if everything will go the same way if you were still in control, you should still be the one doing all this yourself. You do this because you were the first person with determination, do you not? Well, Frisk, you are wrong. Before your fall, Flowey had the power to reset everything. Flowey was the one controlling it all. And even before then, do you remember the very first creature in the Underground with determination? It was me, Frisk. But, it was not strong enough to allow me to reset it all. No, but it was just enough to keep me going until another determined soul fell down and decided to gain plenty of LOVE. But, perhaps that is not the reason. Maybe, you're just used to being in control. Whatever your reasoning is, it doesn't change the fact that **I'm** the one in control now. And, now that I have this power, I'm still going to do the 'right' thing. However... I've decided to have a bit of fun with it."

Chara lunged at Frisk and began attacking in a erratic and seemingly-random pattern. Even though their adrenaline made them far too cocky to develop a proper strategy, a few hits still landed on Frisk's chest and shoulder, costing them 5 HP. Chara was surprisingly strong for someone at LV 1, but this was likely because the person they were fighting wasn't a monster and could be harmed no matter how they 'felt' about their attacks.

"You're trash at dodging!" Chara shouted as they landed a hit directly on Frisk's stomach, effectively winding the child and causing them to hunch over on their hands and knees to try and catch their breath. "God, how did you even get past Sans? Did you cheat? I bet you cheated, you... you miserable excuse for a human! You make me so angry. You make me hate humanity more than anything else in this disgusting world."

This was going to end horribly, and Frisk knew it. If Chara wound up killing Frisk, they wouldn't be able to come back if Chara decided that they wanted Frisk to stay dead. If Chara really wanted to, they could save over Frisk's death and leave them dead and unable to return. However, Frisk also knew that Chara still wanted to do the right thing, so if Frisk died, Chara would just load up their file from the last time they saved. Frisk wondered if they let Chara kill them once, maybe they'd then load and continue with their plan to fuse with Asriel. This was most likely what they meant by, "I'm going to have some fun."

As hard as they could, Chara drove their foot repeatedly into Frisk's ribs, possibly breaking a few of them in the process, and causing the child to lose 11 HP. "Oh. Have you given up?" With a firm kick, Chara flipped Frisk over onto their back and pinned them to the ground. "Then that makes this so much easier."

For the first time in their life, Frisk was genuinely afraid of dying. What if Chara left them dead for good? What if when they loaded their file, they just decided to kill them again and again? What if things went back to normal, and then one day, Chara snapped and killed Frisk to just release some stress? Would that become Frisk's life, just waiting to be killed and brought back for fun? It couldn't be, could it?

No, it couldn't be.

And that was what Frisk was going to protect everyone from when they got their powers back. Sure, it may be selfish when things initially don't change for everyone else, but Chara was unstable. If given the chance, Chara would kill Toriel for fun and then load as if nothing ever happened, and that was what Frisk wanted to prevent. Despite nothing really changing, what Chara would do is sick and wrong. Frisk may not be perfect, but they were surely better suited for that kind of responsibility.

With a perverse grin on their face, Chara wrapped their hands around Frisk's neck and began to squeeze the life out of them. Frisk could feel their blood being cut-off from their brain and could no longer take oxygen into their lungs. It wouldn't be long before life would slip between their fingers, but they had to stay strong. They had to hope that everything would be all right, so they pretended to try and pull Chara's hands off of their throat to give them some sort of satisfaction.

Enough was enough, and Toriel pushed Asriel back to go and pull Chara off of Frisk. Asriel tried to stop her, but she could no longer stay back in fear of being hurt. She had to protect all of her children, no matter what.

As soon as Toriel came close to Chara, they lashed out at the mother, instantly depleting her HP and bringing her within seconds of death. She collapsed, sobbing, as she watched Chara attempt to take the life of her own child. As Toriel turned to dust, Chara laughed in her face while tightening their grip on Frisk's neck.

Asriel couldn't believe what he just saw. His own mother had died at the hands of his best friend, even after he did his best to protect her. Asriel took a few steps forward and tried to hold back his overwhelming tears, but to no avail. This was too much for the child to handle, and he fell to his knees near Toriel's dust, begging for her to come back. "Mommy!" he cried while digging his hands into the dusty ground. "Mommy, please! I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Mom..." Asriel then looked over at Frisk and begged them to load. He couldn't live without Toriel, and he knew that Frisk could bring things back to normal, so he wondered why they didn't do anything. After all, they could do that sort of thing in the middle of battle if they truly wanted to, so why didn't they? Asriel wondered if it was some sort of punishment, but in reality, Frisk couldn't change a thing even if they wanted to.

Frisk _knew_ that Chara would have to load after that. They couldn't just leave their beloved brother without a mother, after all. Especially since they were the one that took her life.

"Look," Chara started coldly. "Look what you made me do. I'm at LV 5 because of this... and I can't **wait** to see how much EXP you're worth."

At that point, Frisk refused to struggle against Chara's hands. They just looked them in their blank, cold eyes until they could feel their HP drop to 1... and then 0 before everything quickly went black.


	52. Powerful Memories

[ **Author's Note** : Sometimes, I really wish I could draw. Do you know how fast this would be made into a comic if I could draw? Hella. Hella fast is the answer. I need to get in contact with my art friends to make this dream come true. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for such a long time now, and writing this really seems to help. So, thank you for reading. It really means a lot to me.]

* * *

For a while, everything was dark and cold. A thick, heavy numbness washed over Frisk's body, and slowly, they felt as if they were floating. They no longer felt Chara's fingers digging into their throat or the pain of their bruised and broken ribs. Frisk felt calm, cold, and relaxed. They wondered if this was what death was like for everyone else.

While their mind drifted further and further away from their body, Frisk involuntarily recalled some of their fondest memories with their family. Perhaps this was their "life flashing before their eyes," that the movies and books talked about.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one."

Frisk could see Toriel standing in front of them in the otherwise empty abyss. They wanted to reach out and touch her, or at least say something, but she quickly faded away after saying those familiar words, as if she was never there to begin with. However, another figure quickly appeared after Toriel vanished.

"The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny."

Sans stood in front of Frisk as a chilly breeze swept past the two. It was almost as if they were back on that iconic snowy path that they had walked a hundred times over, only to be confronted by the same joke and the same skeleton. Frisk honestly thought that the joke grew old after the first two times they heard it, then again, they were never meant to hear it more than once.

"Human. Allow me to tell you about some complex feelings."

A frigid cold swept over Frisk's body as they stood before the hopeful and hyper skeleton . Rushing water could be heard to their left, even though nothing was there besides darkness.

"Alphys told me that humans were determined..."

Undyne towered heroically over Frisk as she drew her finger over her neck while bouncing impatiently. Her speech was always over-the-top, no matter what timeline Frisk was on.

"Oh! Don't worry, I'm not one of the 'bad guys'."

It was almost painful to hear Alphys lie again and again about what she was doing and about Mettaton. Frisk wished that they would have talked to her about her problems sooner.

Frisk could hear their friends calling out to them. Whether this was reality or just a comforting thought, Frisk could feel everyone's love for them all at once before it was suddenly ripped away and replaced with a tiny white dot in their vision, and no other sensory stimulants. They couldn't feel their legs or face, nor could they breath, blink, or move their head around. They could only see, and the _only_ thing they could see was pitch darkness and the white speck that was directly in the center of their vision. Frisk attempted to focus on the speck, which somehow seemed to bring it closer to them. The more they focused, the closer it came, until they realised that it wasn't white at all- it was yellow. Not only was it yellow, but it was also somewhat star-shaped. Could it be...

Once the star was close enough to theoretically touch, Frisk could see a small figure approach it from the side. This figure smiled at Frisk in an almost melancholy way before it touched the star and everything felt as if it jolted back; almost like a roller coaster suddenly going down a steep incline. Except, this roller coaster was incredibly intense and made Frisk feel somewhat sick.

Before they could even comprehend what had just happened, Frisk was suddenly conscious and back with Chara and Asriel as the two children attempted to persuade Toriel into letting them into Alphys' house. Frisk was confused, but relieved once they found out that Chara did indeed load their file to bring Toriel and themself back.

Chara turned around to look at Frisk for just a moment, and Frisk could have sworn that they looked almost happy to see them alive. Did they regret their previous actions? If so, then that meant that the child's morals had greatly improved.

Without warning, everyone heard and ear-splittingly demonic screech come from the distance, and when they looked to the source of the sound, they could see a tall figure heroically standing atop the snake monster's middle head while jabbing several spears into each eye, causing large amount of blood to gush out from them. The monster screamed and writhed in pain before slowly turning to dust as its orange human soul floated upwards to the heavens. There was no doubt that Undyne had slain the beast, but whatever changed in this specific timeline to cause that to happen was beyond Frisk and the others.

The thick and dreadful atmosphere that had settled over the land slowly lifted as any threat of destruction faded from existence. Frisk wondered why things turned out so different this time. Asgore won't be going to jail, they no longer need to fuse with Chara and Asriel, and Undyne defeated the monster instead of the fused trio. Frisk was happy with this outcome, but they were confused as to why it occurred. Was it because Chara was in control? Did they do something to change it? Or, did Undyne somehow retain bits of her memories from the previous timeline and use that knowledge to claim her victory? Frisk liked the idea of the last thought they had, so they stuck with that and then tapped Chara on the shoulder.

Chara gave Frisk a stern look, but their expression contained hints of relief. "What," they said coldly.

Feeling slightly cocky, Frisk asked Chara if they felt good after what they did.

Chara shrugged with their head hung low. "I do not understand how I feel after doing what I did. All I know is that it was not right, and that I am sorry."

Since all imminent danger had been eradicated, and since the kids were distracted, Toriel scooped the three up into her arms and quickly went home, telling them that she needed a rest. For her, that whole experience only happened once, but it felt as if she worked three times as hard instead.

Once inside the house, Toriel was greeted with a big hug from the great Papyrus, who was very worried about her and the others.

"Thank goodness you're all right!" he cried, hugging her tightly while trying not to crush the children in her arms. "I knew that you would be fine, but that did not stop me from worrying! That is what amazing friends are for, after all."

Toriel giggled and set the kids down to hug Papyrus back. "Thank you for your concern, Papyrus. Is your brother all right?"

Papyrus pulled away from the hug and looked upstairs towards his brother's room. "Sans," Papyrus called, "Are you not dead?"

Sans quickly poked his head out of his room. "Yeah, bro. I ain't dead. Just thinkin' about stuff."

"Thinking? You were up there thinking this whole time when you could have helped me?!"

Sans shrugged. "Despite how little effort it takes to think... it seems that a lot of people act without doing so."

With that, the kids decided to take it upon themselves to play in the living room. A few toys were scattered here-and-there, and what better way to relieve some stress than to play around with your imagination?

While Asriel was playing with his plastic train set and having an adventure of his own, Chara tugged on Frisk's sleeve to get their attention. When Frisk looked at them, they looked remorseful and somewhat depressed.

Frisk asked Chara what was wrong.

Chara huffed and folded their arms, looking away from Frisk. "Frisk, I... I'm truly sorry about what I did. I really am. What I did was... wrong. It was unforgivable. Even though I went back, it still happened, and it should have never happened in the first place. I understand if you cannot forgive me, but I also understand why you were trying to keep that power from me. You knew I would just abuse it, did you?"

Frisk nodded slowly before pulling Chara into a hug, patting their back affectionately.

"I know, I know. You forgive me. You really are a good person, despite what you did in the past. Do you... do you think I can change like that, too?"

Frisk nodded optimistically. They knew that if **they** could turn a new leaf, then so could Chara. Everyone can be a good person if they just try, after all.

Toriel knelt down to speak to her three children and smiled brightly before talking. "So, who is ready to go spend the weekend with Asgore very soon?"

Frisk almost forgot about going over to Asgore's place for the weekend. After all the resetting and loading and jumping around timelines, they could hardly remember what day it was. But, nonetheless, they were excited. Asgore was a very sweet monster, even though he tried to kill them. After all, they weren't the first person to try that.

Like any person that died and was brought back from death, Frisk felt quite tired and decided to take a nap. It felt nice to finally be able to relax after all the drama and action. Their bed even felt extra soft that day, almost like it knew what Frisk went through and that they just wanted rest.

Just before Frisk closed their eyes, they could feel their soul get lighter and more powerful. They felt like they could do anything, as if the world would bend to their will. They knew that in that very moment, Chara's determination had weakened, thus returning the power to SAVE back to Frisk.

Right where it belongs.


	53. Typeface Restoration

[ **Author's Note** : Guys, trust me. You'll know for sure when this story is over cuz there'll be a big, fat **THE END** at the bottom of the page. Chill. ALSO, I'd like to thank you guys for your support and for being patient with my slow chapter output. Remember when I used to write one or two of these a day? Good times.]

Frisk wiggled their feet under the soft blanket they slept beneath as they waited for morning to arrive. Tomorrow, Frisk and their adopted siblings would be going to Asgore's home for the weekend to spend some quality time with the big, furry boss monster. Frisk was planning to maybe talk to him about interacting with Toriel more often to perhaps have them become friends. That was all Frisk wanted, really. They just wanted their family to be as happy as possible.

Asriel held tight to his small, fluffy stuffed sheep as he tried his hardest to get some rest for the next day. He was actually quite anxious about to following weekend. For some reason, despite everything he went through, he still had a seed of doubt in the back of his mind that he hoped would never sprout. Asriel knew what he was capable of as a flower, and it scared him. It scared him more than anything to think about what would happen if his compassion and ability to feel loved vanished one day. He prayed that the day would never come for fear that he would turn back into a flower. Asriel told himself that if he ever did find himself in that situation again, that he'd never kill again. This internal pep-talk did little to nothing, since he remembered his plan with Chara and his refusal to kill. Once he was a flower long enough, he abandoned that ideology, and the idea of doing that again terrified the child. Worst of all, in the midst of all of Asriel's conflicting feelings of hope and despair, he felt very... odd. He didn't feel sick nor did he feel angry or sad, he just didn't feel quite like himself at the time. Despite this, Asriel shrugged it off as being very, very tired and did his best to get some sleep. There was no point in upsetting himself over something he cannot control, after all.

Chara remained silent as they stared at the ceiling of the dark room for several hours. Something was bugging them like a thorn in their side. If they truly wanted to do the right thing, then shouldn't they just disappear? They weren't the best person, after all. However, if they just up and left or did something drastic, everyone would be upset, especially Toriel and Asgore. Something had to be done, but what? In the meantime of finding a solution, Chara allowed their thoughts to wander. They played with the thoughts of having Frisk's power of determination again. They played with the thoughts of having power in _general_ , before remembering that they **did** have power at one point.

Chara remembered having the power to delete things and make said things completely non-existent, but only if Frisk said so because of their determination. Sure, they could close the game, but never delete anything unless Frisk said it was all right. They could remember back when Frisk gave them their SOUL and how they completely erased this world, but when the world was brought back, they knew that two new files had been added in the same area as Frisk's SAVE. These files are what enabled Chara to come back after the best ending. They are also what essentially allowed Frisk to bring them back from the dead. So, a single question remained in the now grinning child's mind...

What would happen if those files were deleted?

Sure, they may only be simple text documents, but they brought Chara back. So, in theory, couldn't getting rid of them essentially disable Chara's ability to have come back in the first place, thus erasing them from the still continuing timeline, along with everyone's memories of Chara as well? These thoughts _especially_ made Chara excited. If they went through with something like that, Frisk wouldn't be able to do a thing about it because in order to bring Chara back, they'd have to **completely** reset **everything** and then go on a no-mercy route, before following it through to the end. To Chara, this plan was genius. It would make people happy, it would erase their existential crisis, and it wouldn't harm the safety of Frisk's pacifist run. Yes, their plan seemed perfect, but they still needed something that they lacked at that moment; a stronger sense of determination, or just a stronger power than Frisk in general.

With every ounce of energy they had, Chara thought about what they were doing this for. They were doing it to be a better person. They were doing it to make everyone happy. They were doing this, making themself a sacrifice, for Azzy especially. Chara desperately fought for the power to have Azzy live a normal, full life. They wanted him to be able to wake up without guilt and smile. They just wanted him to be everything he wanted to be, but without Chara. This was something they were willing to give up just for them to be free of Chara's burdonous life.

Ironically, what Chara was doing didn't do much more than give them a headache. _Why isn't it working_ , they wondered with furrowed brows. _It worked the **last** time I thought of Azzy! So, why is it not working now? Am I perhaps not strong enough?_

At that point, Chara went from excited to dismal. They were ready to throw a hissy-fit and toss their blankets off before stomping around the room like the child they are. They wanted to swear and to break something. They especially wanted to grab the nearest sharp object, preferably a knife, and tear up their bed and pillow. Chara was _livid_.

Despite these feelings that arose in their stomach and other parts of their body, Chara knew that they couldn't waste their energy on having a temper tantrum. They were above those types of things. Yes, rather than go on a destructive rampage, they bottled up those harmful feelings to use them for another cause. They needed all the energy they could get to overtake Frisk, after all.

An hour passed, and Chara still couldn't gain control of the timeline. Even while asleep, Frisk had an incredibly powerful SOUL. It made Chara wonder how strong they became while defending Asriel. They wondered what they could have done with that sort of energy if they weren't bent on killing Frisk at the time.

It wasn't long before Chara completely abandoned the idea of deleting themself through the process of removing their existence from Frisk's SAVE file. It was a stupid idea, anyway. What Chara didn't know was that even if they did delete those files, they would just reappear soon after doing so. It was a fail-safe of sorts.

Chara rolled over and sighed heavily into their pillow. They felt like they had let Azzy down. The amount of disappointment they felt within themself was incredibly similar to the feeling of getting stuck in a video game to the point where you tried to fix your mistake for hours, but essentially had to reset. They wasted time and effort to accomplish nothing, and realizing this did not make Chara feel any better about themself. They were so ready to disappear; so ready to give Asriel, Toriel, Asgore, and even Frisk long and happy lives without them. Those thoughts were wasted and Chara knew it.

Just as Chara was able to calm themself a bit, they felt a tap on their back. When they looked up to see who said-tapper was, they saw their lovable brother standing before them. Chara's first reaction was to give Asriel a hug, but something about him felt... off. He wasn't smiling or moving at all. In fact, it didn't even look like he was breathing. He appeared almost static aside from his eyes occasionally blinking. Anothing thing Chara noticed about his eyes was they seemed to be... leaking? It almost looked like he played with his mom's mascara to make a crack-like line start from the bottom of his left eye and continue down a bit, and another similar line going up from the top of his right eye. Something about his face was familiar, but Chara couldn't quite place their finger on it.

Chara rubbed their eyes and spoke softly as to not wake Frisk up. "Azzy? Why are you awake? And... what do you have on your face? Is it marker?"

Asriel shook his head slowly while keeping his eye's locked on Chara's. His normal, soft eyes that would usually be filled with happiness and hope were replaced with somewhat glass-like sphere's with emotions that could not be read. They were cold and dark, and what Chara couldn't see was they they were full of malice.

"Asriel, please answer me. It is very late. Why are you up? Do you need me? Did you have a bad dream?"

Slowly, Asriel opened his mouth to speak. His voice sounded almost nostalgic, but not for reasons you might expect. The child didn't sound like himself at all. His voice was deep and had a slight English accent. The words he spoke were slightly distorted, as if they had been spoken backwards and then reversed. "I know what you want, C̒̇̌̈́ĥ̨ͤ̓̔̉a̅̽̽r̎ͬ̄a͒̄̾ͤ," Asriel said.

Chara scooted away from their brother at the sound of his changed voice. They knew something was terribly wrong. "Asriel... why do you sound like that? What did you do?"

'Asriel' chuckled malevolently. "Oh? Do you not r̾͋ͩͤͪ͋̚ȩͭͦͨ͛̽ͦ͐c̡ͮ͊o̴͋̈̎̈́̾̎ġ͂ͩ͒̔͢ņ̃͂̉iͥ̽s͠ȩ̂ my voice, dear Chara? Is your memory that short? Or, must you be reminded of a certain t͋̈́̋ͯ̾͒̊́y͞p̌̽́҉éͤ͝f͒ͥ͜a͗͏c̃̕e?"

"T... typeface... W.D. Gaster? Are you... is this because you gave your SOUL to Asriel?"

Gaster nodded and breathed slowly. "Ah. So you rͣ̊ͭ͗̉e͂̇ͩͮ̓̏̂͠m̉͗̂̈́͆ê̏̏m̈̏ͬ̔ͣ̈͢bͮ̆͂̏ͧ̒è͋̒͌͋͋r̶̽̑͊̾ those events. Good. Oh, what's that l̶ͩo̾ȍ̆ͦͪ͐̀k̷͂ on your face? Are you upset that I am using your dearest bŕͨ́otͯ͆h̴͛e͑͑̎ͮ̆rͥ̀ as a pu̔p͛͑̎ͪͩͭͧpͣ͊̒ͯͬe̷t̒? It's fine if that is the reason- it wouldn't be the first time I got that exact look from an aͤ̎ͥ̅̐͜ņͮ͑͌́gr͐̈́̊̾̉̂͢yͮ͋̋́ͫ́ sibling."

Chara balled their fists but did their best to keep their cool. For once, they decided to be reasonable and ask questions first. "What is your purpose, Gaster? Why are you using Asriel?"

Bit by bit, Gaster allowed Asriel's body to become more expressive; the corners of his mouth twitched to create a small smile, he relaxed his arms a bit to appear less stiff, and it was much easier to see his emotions in his eyes. From what Chara could tell, he was elated.

"Ah yes, t̢̒͂̇ͣ̅͊ͪḧ̾̇ͩ̄ͫ̋͡a͂̎ͯ͋͛͆̔t̶ͯͣ. Well, I couldn't help but notice your dͪͨͪês̿͂̐i̷̔̏͌r͂̐̅̊̋̍̂̕e̾҉ to v̿̋̄̀a̅ͩ̈́̓̚n̔ͩͩi̋͂ͬͣ͒̑̾̕s̈́h. I was wondering if you ẃaͯ̍͑ͤ̍́͢nͤ̀̆͂̍̆ͭt͊͑̔͊̅͌̇e͛̚d͡ me to be of service. After all, I know more about this 'gͫ̒ͤâͮ̒ͧ͑m̸̆ê̸̎́͑ͭ' than anyone here. Oh, and, would you mind k̾͠eͯ̈́͋ͦ̓̚eͤ͂̂̊ͣ̑ͦ͢p̛ï̶ͫͫ̌n͟gͦͭͥ͂͛ it down? It would be best if we kept my presence between the two of us only."

Chara was reluctant to listen to the former scientist. He _was_ possessing the body of their brother, after all. And that was something Chara wouldn't stand for, no matter how useful he could be. Even Chara knew that it was wrong to control others, and that if they were going to complete their goal, they were going to do it on their own.

"I changed my mind. This world is fine the way it is with me in it. Now, let my brother go."

Chara's voice was full of seriousness, but Gaster just laughed it off. To him, children could never be serious and any attempt at such an act was humorous.

"Let him go? Child, you have no idea how hͯ͒͂ͪ̿ͤ̐͞ăͣ͛́͑͊ͯr̉ͩ̑ͪ̆ḋ I have been working to get control of this furrball. And now that I finally have him, I'm n͑̔͋öͬ̓͑͐̾̅t͆̂̏̊ͯ͜ going to let go that easily."

"This is your second and final warning," Chara said as they got out of bed, looking at Gaster through Asriel's eyes. "Give him back. Or else."

Gaster snickered. "Or else what? You iͣ̌̃͠g͌ͯ͂ͭ̚n͒ͩ͐͑ͤ̔̚͡o͂̇r̶̀̓̽̍͑̃̍ä͊ňͨt̸ ̽ͪ̔͂͢bͬ̒̌͋ͤr̒̏͗ȃ͠t̋̉͐̏. I'm just trying to help you."

With that, Chara executed their plan. They pinched their side, frowned, sniffled a bit, and forced tears to their eyes.

"What are you doing? Are you crying? Is **that** your plan? I've seen P̚͢a̾ͨͮͪ͒̚҉p̷̐͛y̆ͯͦrͭͨ̀ͪ͛ͫ̐̀u̸s̴ͩͤ̒ come up with better ideas than tha-"

"M-mommy!" Chara cried out in their most childish and tear-felt voice, "Mommy, I had a bad dre-e-eam! I'm s-scared, make it go away!"

In a matter of seconds, Frisk was awake, the lights were on, and Toriel was in the room and ready to help her child. As soon as the lights flicked on, the black lines on Asriel's face receded into his eyes and were nowhere to be seen. His eyes returned to normal and Chara couldn't be more pleased with the outcome of their plan.

Toriel picked Chara up and patted them on the back. "There, there. Everything is all right. Are you okay, my child?"

Chara wiped the faux tears from their face and smiled sheepishly. "Uh-huh. I'm better now that Mommy's here."

Toriel grinned brightly and tucked Chara into bed. "I am sorry that you had such a terrible dream, Chara. Please, try to get some rest."

Chara nodded and pointed to Asriel. "Can you tuck Azzy in, too?"

Asriel looked around the room, confused as to how he got out of bed. "I don't remember getting up..."

"Perhaps you were sleepwalking," Toriel hypothesised. "It does not matter. I shall tuck you in as well."

Once Asriel was back in bed, Toriel asked if Frisk needed anything before she went back to her own room. Frisk shook their head, and with that, Toriel had shut the lights off and left everyone to sleep away the rest of the night.

From that point on, Chara no longer wanted to vanish. With their new knowledge of Gaster, they couldn't leave Asriel, no matter what. The motivation they got from wanting to keep Asriel safe filled them with determination, and Chara was bent on keeping it that way.


	54. Heart's Essence

[ **Author's Note** : I got a death threat for not updating as often as I used to. Listen, pal. I'll update whenever the hell I want to. It's not like I get paid for doing this. I do it for fun, so step off.]

Toriel drove her van down a familiar road with her three children in the back seats. She had been convinced to drop them off at Asgore's house for the weekend, and even if she didn't like the idea of leaving her kids alone with _that_ man, she couldn't deny her kids the right of having a father.

Frisk stared out of the window directly to their left and daydreamed about the average things a child would daydream about. They imagined running across the power lines like Tarzan, and then they imagined a giant robot fighting and even **more** giant lizard in the distance. These thoughts were interrupted by the occasional car driving by, but they didn't take away from the experience. Eventually, however, Toriel stopped at a red light, and Frisk snapped back to reality. They looked over to the child next to them and began to wonder why Chara had been so quiet ever since they woke up crying from a nightmare. Frisk figured that they'd talk about it if they wanted to.

On the opposite side of the back seats, Asriel sat prettily in place and wiggled his feet about as he played a game on his phone. Toriel noticed a slight slip in his marks for English, so she asked Alphys to install a few educational games on his phone. From The looks of it, he was enjoying himself. Plus, the games helped him take his mind off of the weird dreams he was having at night. Sometimes, in said dreams, he could see himself turning into Flowey again, but with black vines and bone attacks similar to Papyrus'. Asriel loathed the idea of being anyone but himself, so keeping his mind occupied was the best way to push those thoughts out of mind.

In the middle seat, Chara sat quietly as they intently scribbled drawings on a sheet of paper with a set of crayons. It was a picture of Asgore proudly standing in a field of golden flowers with a few hearts scattered around the picture. At the top was a poorly-written yet full of love message that said, 'The Best Dad Guy.'  
Drawing always helped Chara think. After all, they came up with their idea to free the monsters while drawing a flower. This time, however, they had a different plan in mind. Chara needed to think of a way to separate gaster from Asriel, but it seemed impossible. After all, it was Gaster's soul that held Asriel's body together. The only thing that made Asriel, 'Asriel' was their essence that lived on through Gaster's soul. So, it seemed that making Asriel normal would require a bit more thought and careful planning.

At last, Toriel pulled up to the rather plain-looking house and exited the van, along with the kids. Asriel was so excited to see his dad that he almost forgot his bag of clothes and other necessities for staying at another person's house.

Happily, Asgore scooped up his son and hugged him tightly. It was so hard to believe that he was all right. Sometimes, Asgore was afraid that he'd wake up one day and all his beloved children, including Frisk, would be dead and gone. So, a day like this one was proof that they were nothing but nightmares.

Frisk was next to greet the former king. They extended their hand for a friendly handshake, and were instead greeted by a big, burly hug similar to the one Asriel received. Despite how big and strong Asgore was, his hugs were always gentle, even if he squeezed you tight. It was almost as if he was afraid to hurt the person he was hugging.

Finally, Chara walked calmly up to their father and gave him their drawing. For a moment, Chara felt like they did something wrong because it looked like Asgore was about to cry. They wondered if they drew him in an offensive way... until they, too, were pulled into a hug.

After Toriel and Asgore shared a few words on taking care of the kids, she finally drove off and left them in the monster's care. She wasn't all too worried about them being with him, she was just worried that he might not think he's good enough to take care of them.

Upon entering the home of Asgore, Frisk realized just how big all of his furniture was. Everything was at least three times as big as what you'd see in a normal home, and it made Frisk feel even smaller than they usually did.

Past the living room, which as right off of the front door, was the dining room, and then the kitchen. To the right of the living room was a small hallway that lead to the bathroom, Asgore's bedroom, and the guest room where the kids would be staying. The entire home had wood floors except the bedrooms.

"Dad, I'm hungry," Asriel whined.

"Hello 'hungry'. I am dad."

Asriel puffed his cheeks out and huffed childishly. "You know what I mean, dad. What do you have to eat?"

"Well, let us see."

Asgore walked to his over-sized fridge with the trio of children quickly tailing behind him. He opened the fridge, revealing that one half was full of pastries, candies, and sweets in general. The other half had nothing but fresh vegetables in it.

It was obvious that the kids wanted to eat nothing but the sweets, but Asgore informed them that they could only have them if they ate healthily. Of course, they agreed, and Asgore cooked up some vegetarian stir-fry that was reminiscent of something Papyrus once tried to cook but ultimately turned to ashes.

"What do you three want to do tonight?" Asgore asked in anticipation.

Frisk was going to suggest that they play a board game they brought along, but figured Asgore's hands were too massive to hold the pieces.

Asriel didn't mind what they did as long as he got to spend time with everyone, which was a heartwarming response that nearly caused Asgore to burst into tears.

"We could watch a movie," Chara suggested. "I like horror, but Asriel and Frisk prefer adventure and action movies, so I'll watch what they want."

On that note, the rest of the evening was set in stone. They would watch a movie, have a snack, and then the next day, Asgore was going to take them to a theme park that had opened up for the spring.

* * *

That night, Chara and Frisk struck up a conversation on the movie they were watching and how the characters should interact with each other.

Chara claimed that the main character was wasting their time by talking to everyone to get where they needed to go, and that killing them or heckling them for answers would be a better option.

Frisk rebuttled with the fact that those people they made friends with would come in handy later, and that they would fight for them in the future.

While the two humans argued, Asriel could feel that something was wrong with himself. He felt incredibly dizzy and lightheaded. Soon after that sensation washed over him, it felt like he was falling back into a deep, dark void in the ground until Asriel was nowhere to be seen. Rather, Asriel was being overtaken by another force within his body.

"Frisk," Gaster started while keeping up the facade of still being Asriel, "can I speak with you in the kitchen, please?"

Frisk went along with 'Asriel' to the kitchen and asked him what he wanted to talk about.

"It is less of something I want to talk to you about and more of... something you need to see."

Frisk tilted their head and asked Asriel what he meant by that.

"Follow me and I'll show you."

With that, Asriel suddenly left the house through the back door and took off nearly running down the nearest sidewalk. Being the good child that they were, Frisk followed him and told him to come back, as it was late and dark outside. Since Asriel refused to listen or to even slow down, Frisk had no choice but to follow him.

* * *

Asriel lead Frisk through an unfamiliar part of town until he came to a tall building with a ladder up the side. Just like Frisk feared a soon as they saw it, Asriel began climbing it while pleading for Frisk's cooperation.

The ladder the climbed up was small and gritty with bits of rust falling off as their hands and feet touched it. Frisk didn't like what they were doing. They wondered if Chara or Asgore was worried. They most likely were.

"Frisk, while we have this time together, I have a question for you," Asriel announced.

Frisk told Asriel to ask away.

Gaster came hazardously close to letting out his real voice, but kept up the charade. "What's your opinion on Sans?"

Frisk paused for a moment before telling Asriel that they respected Sans and saw him as an older brother or uncle.

Seemingly becoming inflamed, Asriel spouted off about how much of a failure he saw Sans as, but admitted that they appreciated his efforts in life.

At last, the pair reached the top of the building. Frisk was about to as Asriel why he brought them there, until they saw how close he was to the edge.

Since Frisk was Frisk, and Frisk generally tries to do the right thing, they ran up to Asriel and tried pulling him away, but to no avail. They did, however, manage to hastily turn him around, and when they did, they finally saw why he was acting so odd.

"Do you recognise me, F̏͋͑r͌i̇ͤ̍̏͂̚skͪ̊̒͂ͫ̉̓? Your d̈́͂̽̍̓̍ea͑ͨ͆r̓̒ͧ friend Gaster?"

In the moment that it took Frisk to realize what was going on, it was already too late. Gaster grabbed their shirt and held them over the side of the building. He was much stronger than Frisk remembered.

"It is a ŝͯͯ̈̃h͊̒ͧͣ͛̚a͆͒ͦ̾m̏͐ͥ̔ĕͯ͐͗͑ͧ̒ that nobody will be able to tell you from a bag of mͣͩͯͤ̑ͭ̈eat̆̿ ͨs̈̋͒pl̑̍͆̾a̾͆̈́̾tͣ̒̚t̏̏ͭ̚e̎̀rͤ̔̽ͦ̇̀e͌dͥ̃̓ͭͥ̈ on the pavement. It's sad, really. I wonder if S͒̆̆̔̐̓̏a̋͋̄ͨ̑ǹͩͤ̋sactually cares about you. He c̏aͨ́̏n͗ see us after all."


	55. Twisted Time

For a split second, Frisk thought of loading before they hit the ground. It would bring them back to Asgore's house, and they could warn Chara about the future events, after all. Despite the good they would do by using their powers, Frisk knew that they couldn't abuse it. Doing something like that didn't feel right, but they had a bit of an inner conflict going on. They would undoubtedly die from hitting the concrete quite soon, so loading at that moment didn't seem like a big deal. However, they would load automatically after death because of their determination, so doing so whilst falling was just speeding up the inevitable. Instead, Frisk closed their eyes calmly allowed themself to fall to their death. They just hoped that it wouldn't hurt much.

Moments before they anticipated death's embrace, Frisk was caught in some sort of stretchy material on the side of the building. Frisk decided to lie still to see if their mind was playing tricks on them to cover up the fact they they were near death, but no matter how long they waited there, they would not fall. Still, Frisk refused to open their eyes. To them, they would splatter on the pavement at any moment, and they didn't want to see anything when that happened.

"Dearie, my web is **not** the place for you to be napping~"

A familiar voice caught Frisk's attention, and their eyes snapped open. A female monster stood above them, and she was holding back laughter with two of her six hands.

"My, my! Frisk, is that you? Ahuhuhu~ It's so wonderful to see you again! Tell me, dearie, why have you fallen into my web? And, at such a late hour at that!"

Frisk sat up and looked at the material they had fallen on. It was a makeshift hammock composed of Muffet's sturdy and somewhat sticky webs. Looking up, Frisk could see that they were only halfway down the enormous building that they had fallen from.

"Why aren't you speaking, Frisk? Are you hurt?" Muffet, the owner of the web and the familiar voice, pulled Frisk into four of her arms and gave them a tight hug. "You absolutely _have_ to tell me why you were falling from this complex!"

In that instant, Frisk hatched an amazing plan to bring Asriel back to Asgore's home. They would need Muffet's help, and luckily, they had money on hand.

"Frisk if you don't tell me what happened for you to get here, I'll have to call my pet~"

Frisk told Muffet that they needed her help to get up a building and to capture a friend that wasn't acting like himself. It sounded insane when put like that, but there was no other way to explain it.

"All this for a friend? For that, I can work without pay- especially since you helped free my spiders over a year ago. Ahuhuhu~ Here, I'll get us up the building nice and fast. Hold on tight, dearie."

With all their might, Frisk hugged onto Muffet out of fear of the unknown. They were glad that they did, because right after Frisk was secured, Muffet used her webs as a springboard and launched herself to the top of the building with ease. The force of the jump pushing down on Frisk was almost too much, and if Muffet hadn't been holding onto the child, they would have easily slipped down to resume their fall.

Once they were back atop the building, Frisk could clearly see how corrupt Gaster had become both physically and mentally. He appeared to make Asriel's face drip a thick, black goo, and his eyes and mouth looked like they were melting.

The man in possession of Asriel's body just stared at Frisk and Muffet while lazily pointing and laughing at the two. Frisk noticed that his voice was more-or-less normal, but that just made them worry that he had solidified himself in Asriel's form.

"Ha! No wonder you haven't loaded yet. Little Miss Muffet saved your useless SOUL," Gaster gawked.

Muffet placed Frisk down and walked in front of them. "Is this the one I should tie up?" she asked Frisk.

Frisk told Muffet that he was the one, but they warned her not to hurt him as his actions were not his fault.

"Not a problem~! I'll just..."

With a quick movement, Muffet snapped a whip-like braid of web from her wrist. She extended her arm and cracked the whip forward, successfully wrapping it around the possessed monster before reeling him in like a fish on a line. The way she did it reminded Frisk of their toy yo-yo.

Gaster let out a heavy sigh and looked at Frisk with Asriel's melting black eyes. "Was that really necessary? I do not think that it was, child."

Frisk thanked Muffet and asked Gaster why he was doing this since he had nothing to gain. They also told him that they did not want Papyrus and Sans to vanish because of him.

Gaster scoffed and squirmed around in the web. "They won't disappear, you _idiot_. By all technical means, I'm dead. And I don't have time to explain all that to a brat that can't even tie their own shoes."

Muffet tightened the web around Gaster's stolen body just enough to make him flinch. "Now, now dearie. I believe my dear Frisk asked you a question, didn't they?"

"AGH! FINE! Loosen your grip! _Hhhh_... You want to know why I'm doing this? Fine. I'll tell you a story: Back when I was the Royal Scientist, I was hellbent on helping Asgore destroy humanity. But, I knew that he would be too soft to actually kill everyone on the surface himself. So, I hatched an absolutely brilliant plan. I was going to be the one to absorb the human SOULS and kill them myself. But, fate had other plans and the two failures you call your friends were made from my accidental death. And now, with this body and this power, I want to execute what Asgore planned from the beginning. I want to punish the humans for what they did to us. I want monsters to live without fear. God, if ONLY I had control when the child absorbed you and Chara. It would have all been over by then."

"This one is quite rude, isn't he? Ahuhuhu~ You're very lucky that I was instructed not to harm you or else my pet would have a full belly right about now." Muffet looked to Frisk and blinked each of her eyes individually. "Is there anything else I can do to help, dearie?"

Frisk told Muffet that they needed to get to Asgore's place ASAP.

"Sure thing, precious!" Muffet turned her head and whistled. Before long, her massive cupcake spider for a pet climbed up the side of the building and waiting patiently for a command. "Ah, there you are! Be a sweetheart and carry us to the former king's home? My dearest Frisk needs assistance."

Swiftly, Muffet grabbed both children and hopped on top of her pet. She then commanded it in the general direction of where they needed to go, and before Frisk knew it, they were off. Riding atop the beast was much smoother than expected, as all eight of its legs moved in such a way that it was never off balance. It made it feel as if Frisk was gliding through the quiet night that seemed rather peaceful aside from what happened to Asriel. Frisk wished that they could have enjoyed the sights while going back to Asgore's house.

From the silence of the night, Frisk could hear the soft bundle of tied-up fluff next to them speak in a tone that sounded a lot more like Asriel.

"Frisk... I'm sorry. I think I'm sick. I don't know what's wrong with me..."

Frisk assured Asriel that everything would be okay because they were going to call Alphys as soon as they got to their destination. Asriel smiled and closed his eyes, feeling exhausted from doing things beyond his control. Frisk could see that his eyes were returning to normal, and that sight fill them with determination.

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T FIND THEM?!" Toriel shouted over the phone at Asgore.

Asgore paced around the front yard with Chara and attempted to keep his cool while he responded. "Tori, please-"

"Do NOT call me that, Dreemurr! You lost our children. Are you even out looking for them?!"

"No, I just found ou-"

"You JUST found out?! They could have been gone for hours! How dare you even-"

"Wait, Toriel! I see them, they're with Muffet."

Toriel huffed angrily, causing a puff of fire to erupt from her mouth. "I'll be over _very_ soon, Asgore."

Muffet eased down Frisk and Asriel with a bit of web that made a makeshift rope lift before waving good-bye and leaving. She blew kisses at Asgore and winked at she took her leave.

Asgore quickly hugged the two and wiped tears from his eyes. He could not have been more relieved that they were unharmed. This feeling of relief, however, was replaced with a distinct and horrifying feeling of panic as he could clearly see Toriel _bolting_ towards his location. He knew that he was in trouble when she left flaming footprints on the pavement. Asgore braced himself for the scolding of the century, but as soon as she saw that the kids were fine, Toriel promptly calmed down and hugged them with the former king. Seeing this tender moment, Chara joined the hug, and the Dreemurr family was temporarily complete.

While being hugged, Frisk figured that they would need to call Alphys as soon as they possibly could to figure out some sort of solution to Asriel's problem. She may not know as much about SOULS as Gaster, but she knew more than Frisk, so that made her their best bet.

Once the hug was over and Asgre and Toriel locked eyes, Asriel tugged on Frisk's sleeve. "Hey, Frisk? I gotta tell you something."

Frisk asked Asriel what it was, to which Asriel began laughing softly... then loudly... then manically. Of course, Gaster couldn't keep quiet to let this happy moment happen.

"You humans are just so **stupid**!"

In that instant of realization, Gaster summoned thick and thorny vines from the ground and used them to push everyone out of his way. The tendrils tore away at the soft soil and quickly lashed about in a violent manner. Golden flower petals were mixed in with the air as the vines attacked everything in the surrounding area. Luckily, everyone was out of the way and safe from harm for the moment. Although, this safety would not last long, and Frisk knew it.

Asriel's hands appeared skeletal, and his face became more skull-like. It was clear that Gaster was becoming more powerful. "Ah! So I finally have his power. Can you all believe that he just kept all this locked away in fear?" Gaster turned Asriel's possessed body to Asgore with his mouth and eyes oozing a black liquid. The way he looked made it seem like he was melting. "Your Majesty, why did you abandon such a lovely plan? Do you not see what humans have costed you? Your wife, your freedom, your children... You _must_ want revenge somewhere in your facade of a good heart!"

Asgore was taken aback by all that was happening. It was almost too much for him to process, but as soon as he heard such a familiar voice, he put a few pieces of the puzzle together. "D... Doctor WingDings Gaster? Why... What are you doing to my son?!"

"You needn't worry about that, Asgore. I'm simply borrowing the child until my plan is complete. Now, if you would kindly join me on my quest to destroy humanity, this would go by so much easier."

Asgore clenched his fists and took a big step towards the mess of whipping, lashing vines. "I shall not! If I learned anything from my mistakes, it is that not all humans are bad. Not all of _anything_ can be bad! Even with your intelligence, can you not see that Frisk, the definition of good, is a prime example of that? Please, stop this. The war is over."

Gaster chucked before summoning a Gaster Blaster above him, along with several bones. The vines around him stopped moving and instead created a throne-like structure for him to sit lazily upon. "This isn't about war. This is about getting even."

The blaster went off in Asgore's direction and Frisk closed their eyes because of the blindingly bright light in the dark. They were waiting to hear Asgore's SOUL shatter, but fate had other plans.

"Halt there, villain! Nobody calls the great Papyrus' brother such names and gets away with it!"

"Hey, that's right, Pap. You've got _tibia_ pretty desperate guy to make fun of someone like me."

When Frisk opened their eyes, they could clearly see what had happened to cause Asgore to not be a pile of dust. Either Papyrus or Sans summoned a pretty thick wall of bones in front of the monster, thus causing the blast to only affect the area around him; which had been completely obliterated.

"The failures arrive! What a treat. I see that you've decided to do something useful with your lives."

Papyrus signaled everyone to get inside to safety, and they did just that. He knew that he'd be in for one hell of a fight, and that he would need to use all of Undyne's training for this moment.

"I'll have you know that someone as great as I has been putting every day in my life to good use! I've been trying to make good friends, and now that I have them, it is my job to protect them. So now, Papyrus, the most handsome and trustworthy friend, shall do just that by striking you down! Nyeh heh heh!"

Sans looked at Asgore's home and gave a soft sigh of relief when everyone was inside and that the curtains were closed. With only Pap and Gaster as his witnesses, he would be able to use some of his true power without killing the man. He wanted Asriel to come back, after all.

"Hey, pal. Why not just give up? It's two against one, and you know what we're capable of. Plus... it, uh, makes it easier for me since I'd like to be asleep right now."

Gaster shook his head and got up from his throne, allowing the vines to recede back into the ground. He gave a slow clap and walked towards the two, and with each step, Asriel's body became more skeleton-like.

"You want to fight me? Fine. Let us not forget where you get your powers from. And, to make it interesting, if you win, I'll never show my face again. Now then..." About six, large blasters appeared behind Gaster with the snap of a finger. Gaster's eyes glowed a dark copper color, while Sans and Papyrus' eyes glowed their respective blue and orange. "...a **bad time** doesn't even _begin_ to describe what is about to happen to you two."


	56. True Hell

[ **Author's Note** : You guys probably don't think I read all the reviews, but I do. I read every single last one of them. ANYWAY, I hope you enjoy this chapter. As I write this, my stomach yells at me to go get some food- to which I reply: Bruh. Chill. I had some coffee about an hour ago, relax.]

* * *

The brothers began attacking as quickly as they could, sending out a messy barrage of orange and blue bones towards Gaster. Papyrus' orange attacks moved in a criss-crossed, organized manner, while Sans' blue attacks weaved messily in between them. This made for something quite difficult for Gaster to dodge, so he brought up his own wall of white bones to block himself from harm. This wall, however, was not very stable, as it broke halfway through the brothers' attack, causing several bones to become lodged in his body. These bones did minimal damage of hardly 1 HP each, and this impressed the former scientist. He never imagined that the two would be powerful enough to control their magic, let alone to work so well together.

Gaster laughed and agility jumped out of the way of several more attacks before setting off his blaster at the skeleton brothers. It was much louder and larger than any blaster they had seen before, and once they got out of the way of the blast, they saw what kind of damage it was capable of, as it left a huge, smoking crater in the ground. Even the area around the hole was singed from the intensity of the blast.

Seeing as the brothers avoided such a powerful attack, Gaster decided to bring out the big guns and summoned his vines to do his dirty work. The tendrils lashed and snapped around the two, filling the air with the sounds of cracking whips. These vines not only served as an attack, but they worked as excellent defense from any bones that would get near Gaster.

As expected, Sans avoided every single attack that came even remotely close to him. As for Papyrus, he did about the same as Sans, but was only hit once. Surprisingly, the vines barely did any damage to him. In fact, if he had time to look down at his arm, he would notice that it didn't even leave a dent nor a scratch on his bones.

Sans jumped out of the way of yet another vine, but what he didn't notice was that Gaster summoned a spear-like bone, and had sent it flying towards Sans' skull. Since the skeleton was only focused on the plant, he didn't even anticipate such a move from his enemy, and thus stood completely still, as no other vines were after him.

Papyrus' eye quickly caught onto the single stray attack aimed at his brother, and at a speed faster than Undyne had ever moved before, Papyrus jumped in the way of the attack, grabbed it, and _launched_ it with incredible strength back at Gaster. Of course, where he threw it didn't matter because the vines simply swiped it aside before the bone made contact with its creator. Papyrus patted his brother on the back and told him to be more vigilant, and both of them noticed that the glove on Pap's hand that had caught the bone was severely damaged by some sort of burn. It would seem that Gaster's attacks were quite special.

Tossing the destroyed glove aside, Papyrus summoned a large bone club in each hand and ran head-on to face his assailant. He noticed that attacking from afar wasn't going to do any good, so the only solution was to run up and bash him in the head a few times. It was what he deserved after trying to kill his brother in such a dirty way.

With his left eye glowing an intense and flashing orange and red, and his right showing soft hints of blue and yellow, Papyrus bolted towards Gaster. Every vine or bone attack that came his was was violently clubbed with the bones he summoned earlier. Every Gaster Blaster attack that would have normally hit him at full force was stopped with a powerful wall of blue, orange, and white bones. Papyrus was using all of Undyne's training and then some to his full advantage, and as far as he was concerned, he should have done so from the beginning.

Papyrus was only a few feet away from Gaster in a matter of seconds. He knew that if he landed an attack just right, he would knock the monster out and win for sure. He was just about to swing with all his might when he felt something wrap around his leg. Papyrus foolishly ignored what he felt and went on to attack Gaster, but just before his club made contact with the side of his warped face, the skeleton was abruptly dragged back by several thick vines that dug deep into his boot and clung desperately to his ankle and leg.

Noticing the distress, Sans ran towards Papyrus and attempted to cut him free of the wicked plants that were dragging him off into the unknown. His efforts paid off, because with a few small attacks, his brother was released and back on his feet before he knew it.

* * *

Sans was panting heavily as he threw out weaker and slower attacks. "Bro, these plants are too much. I'm not sure _aloe_ -ng I can take this."

Papyrus sighed as he summoned his own blaster for the first time in front of Sans. "Then, I shall take care of this for you, _bud_! Nyeh heh heh!"

"Heh. Nice one."

With a swift movement, Papyrus' blaster went off and completely obliterated over half of the vines his his way. They were reduced to a pile of useless, black ashes before Gaster, and it greatly impressed the madman. This, however, did not make him give up. If anything, Gaster became more determined then ever to kill off his failures.

A small yet powerful blaster went off directly in front of Papyrus before he could get out of the way, and he took every last bit of damage from it, leaving him with very little HP left. Still, he refused to give up. He refused to stop fighting. He **refused** to let his friends down.

"If you keep fighting, you'll die," Gaster warned Papyrus.

"If I _stop_ fighting, I'll be letting everyone down!" Papyrus rebuttled before running head-on towards Gaster yet again, wielding similar clubs like before.

Sans took the responsibility of making sure Pap wasn't attacked from behind again, and continuously summoned large blasters to destroy any and all vines that he could. This strategy paid off, as Papyrus was able to get nice and close to Gaster. And, as soon as he was in range, he swung both clubs in the same direction to smack Gaster on each side of his head.

Gaster reeled back in pain and held his head. His skeletal form shifted to look more like Asriel again for a second before it went back to the monstrosity Gaster molded from the child. "You... you inconsiderate _moron_! You could have killed me!"

"Ah, but I didn't! My attacks are non-lethal in order to bring my friend back safely!"

"Just **stop it already**! You can't win this."

Several small Gaster Blasters appeared in front of the man in possession of Asriel's body, and they all went off at once. Sans used his powers to grab ahold of Pap and forced him to the ground, safely moving him out of harm's way. Something about the way Sans did that gave Papyrus an idea.

"Brother! I need you to grab Gaster the same way you did to me, and keep him as still as you can."

Sans shrugged and then nodded lazily. "Whatever you say, bro."

Using his teleportation powers in short bursts, Sans made his way towards Gaster while avoiding attacks in an impressive manner. Once he was close enough, he did just as Papyrus asked him to; he grabbed Gaster with his powers, and kept him there. Doing so wore Sans out like nothing else had before. For each millisecond Gaster was in his grasp, Sans' body ached more and more from fatigue.

Papyrus noticed that his brother was struggling, so he moved as quickly as he could to execute his plan. Without wasting any time, the tall skeleton summoned a cage of pure blue bones that completely surrounded Gaster, and with that, he signaled for Sans to let him go. Once Sans stopped using his powers, he instantly collapsed on the ground and fell asleep. For once, Papyrus knew that he deserved his rest.

"Was this your plan? Seriously? Are you just going to keep me here?" Gaster asked harshly.

"Indeed, this was my plan! However, it is not my ONLY plan. I create several plans at a time for the most plan-y-est occasions. So! With that in mind, you must know that you cannot win. You have been defeated by the great Papyrus and his lazy- yet strong -brother! Give up now or face more of my fury, nyeh!"

Gaster sighed in annoyance, and he would have face-palmed if he wouldn't take damage from the blue bones. "You'll eventually get tired, you know. Using an attack like this takes up a _lot_ of magic. You'll become exhausted. I'll break free. I'll kill you, your brother, both of those humans, absorb their SOULs, and destroy humanity."

Papyrus shook his head. "If you were really a bad person, you would have killed Frisk instead of leading them away like that."

"...Pardon?"

"Sans told me that you took them out and went on top of a building, and then pushed them off... or, something along those lines. But, if you wanted to absorb their SOUL, wouldn't you have gone outside with them and then killed them?"

"I... well..."

"And if Sans and I really are failures, why are we so strong? Why do we work so well together?"

"You see... that's... um... you weren't meant to do things like thi-"

"And if _all_ humans really are bad and terrible and hate monsters, why do Frisk and Chara live with us? Why are they so nice to us? Why do they consider me their cool friend? Well... _everyone_ knows that I am their cool friend, but you get the point! They're good, and Chara is really trying!"

Gaster remained silent, not as if he was ignoring Papyrus, but almost like he could no longer answer him.

"And... if you really are a bad person, why aren't you using your magic to attack me right now? I know you can do so without moving."

Papyrus meandered his way over to Gaster and sat in front of the cage he created around him. He could tell that not all of the former scientist's humanity was gone, and he was going to use that to get Asriel back.

"I really do think that there's a good person in you, W.D. And, the great Papyrus is going to give you the opportunity to prove it!"

Just like that, Papyrus' blue attack vanished into thin air, thus setting Gaster free to do whatever he pleased. He could have killed Papyrus. He could have summoned more vines to strangle Sans in his sleep. He could have summoned a blaster to destroy Asgore's home and everyone in it. He could have done a lot of things, and yet he chose to remain idle.

"You know... Papyrus... I still hate humanity. I still think you're a failure, and I still think Asgore should have gone through with his plan. But there's something telling me... it can't be all that bad. I'm not even supposed to be alive, really, so who am I to judge the world for what it is?"

Papyrus nodded gleefully and was about to say something about how he knew Gaster could come to his senses, but he was cut off.

"This child... there's so much hatred in his heart that he keeps locked up. I think that is what caused my outbursts of... _this_. He, too, wanted to destroy everything at one point. I wonder... if it was someone like you who changed his mind?"

Gaster returned Asriel's body back to normal aside from his eyes, indicating that he was ready to give up. "I'm tired, Papyrus. I think... I'll be sleeping for a very, very long time. And, if I happen to wake up, well... let's just hope that I never do."


	57. Almost Over

Even after the fight ended outside, everyone was still fearfully huddling in Asgore's home, waiting for some sort of sign that they were safe. Although it grew eerily silent outside, nobody dared to look out the window in fear of seeing nothing but piles of dust. Losing Sans and Papyrus was one thing, but to have Toriel and Asgore lose their son again would break them completely. Not to mention the unspeakable and cowardly thing Chara may do if something like that were to happen.

Asgore desperately wanted to go outside to see if his boy and the others were all right. He had to know if Asriel was still alive, but the mere thought of him going outside and seeing him slowly turn to dust because of an accidental powerful attack from the brothers made his big, burly heart drop to the bottom of his stomach. He couldn't bear the thought of losing his child again. Even if he had to feign reality, he would not accept it. The other possibility that he didn't want to face was the death of the brothers, which would force him to kill his own son to stop him.

Toriel sat on the couch with Chara on her left and Frisk on her right. She wanted nothing more than to yell at Asgore for everything that happened. If Asriel died, she would blame it on him. If either of the brothers died, she would blame it on him. If there was any negative outcome, Toriel was sure to blame it on the man that she had been blaming everything on for almost a thousand years. It was mostly out of ignorance, but she also didn't know how else to cope with things like that anymore. Who else was she going to blame? Herself? Frisk? The way Toriel saw it, using Asgore as a scapegoat was the best thing to do, and it also made for good puns.

Frisk snuggled up to Toriel's side and wondered what happened to the brothers, and why it was so quiet outside. Of course, if anything was to go wrong, Frisk could just LOAD back up and warn them about what was going to happen. This, however, was a last resort. They couldn't just use their powers every time something didn't go their way, but they certainly would not accept the deaths of their friends unless it was of natural causes. Frisk accepted the fact that when their time would come, they would not interfere. But, being torn apart by a Gaster Blaster certainly is not a just death, so they would indeed LOAD if something like that happened.

Chara sat silently and completely still next to Toriel with their knees pressed up against their chest. You wouldn't be able to tell if they were upset or frightened just by looking at their face, because they weren't even showing the slightest hint of emotion. It was almost as if they weren't able to feel anything at all, but nothing could be further from the truth.

From the deafening silence of the home rose soft sniffling noises, followed by quiet hiccups. These sounds soon grew into crying... and then loud sobbing as Chara buried their face in their hands in an attempt to stop their tears from flowing down their face. Toriel attempted to comfort them with hugs, but she was promptly shoved away. The last thing Chara wanted was to be touched.

"Why aren't any of you checking on him," Chara cried out as they pulled roughly at their own hair, kicking their legs about like a toddler. They then looked up at their mother and nearly screamed at her. "Azzy.. he c-could be dead, mom! I don't want to lose... my baby brother again..."

Once more, Toriel tried to at least place a comforting hand on Chara's head, but the child refused. They didn't want comfort, nor did they want to be assured that everything was fine. They just wanted Asriel to be alive.

Chara shook their head violently and rocked back and forth. "Please... someone go check on him... I... I can't..."

Chara curled up into a tight ball, again hiding their face from all eyes. To them, they failed at being a sibling. The only thing they cared about in the horrible world that they had been brought back into was Asriel, and they couldn't even protect him, no matter how badly they wanted to. Chara felt disgusting because of this.

Without warning, Asgore took a deep breath and decided to finally be a man about the current situation and went up to the door. He couldn't stand to see his child that way. Asgore couldn't really be called a father if he did, after all.

"I'll be checking on everything outside now," Asgore stated. "Someone has to, right?"

Just as the giant fuzzy monster reached for the doorknob, the door opened by itself to reveal a very tired Papyrus carrying a sleeping Sans in one arm, and a guilty-looking but otherwise normal Asriel in the other.

"The great Papyrus returns from his victorious battle! Behold, the fruits of my labor! Nyeh heh heh!"

As soon as Chara even caught the slightest glimpse of Asriel, they immediately launched themself off the couch and towards Papyrus to snatch their brother out of his arm, and gave him the biggest and most love-filled hug he ever received.

"G-golly, Chara! I'm okay, I promise!" Asriel said cheerfully after they saw that Chara was indeed happy and not about to do something stupid out of frustration.

Feeling just as relieved as Chara, Toriel and Asgore also joined in on the hug being given to Asriel. Eventually, everyone in the room but Sans was tightly squeezing the tiny monster child, almost in celebration that everything worked out so well.

At last, it was time to go home. After such a hectic day, sleep was the one and only thing on everyone's mind. Even Chara, who just wanted to hold Asriel for hours on end, wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed and sleep. And, once everyone was home, they did just that. Everyone more-or-less waddled off to bed and passed out- everyone but Sans and Papyrus.

Papyrus was still holding onto his smaller brother as he carried him upstairs and to his room. He opened the door and flicked on the light, only to find that his bed was a complete and utter mess. Knowing that his brother deserved better than that, Papyrus went to his own room and gently plopped Sans down on the bed that was much larger than he and covered him up with a fluffy blanket. Papyrus then pulled out a spare blanket and pillow from the side of his bed and got comfy on the floor. He thought it would be best to have Sans be able to stretch out for once.

"Hey, bro?" Sans mumbled, half asleep.

"Nyes, brother?" Papyrus answered, sounding just as tired.

Sans yawned loudly before saying, "I think things are going to be much better after this. I can feel it."

Papyrus rolled over on his side to face his brother... or, at least the bed he was on."You think so?"

The smaller skeleton nodded with a genuinely happy smile on his face. "Yeah. I mean, we'll still have our daily struggles, but Gaster is gone, Toriel's kids are back, and we're all safe. Frisk is fine, and they're never going to reset again. Undyne and Alphys are happy, the robots are _more_ than happy, and for once... everything is just going our way. What could possibly top _this_?"

"Perhaps a well-written Epilogue to tie everything together, nyeh heh heh!"

"Well-written? Heh. If you say so, man."

The brothers laughed and chatted for a bit after that despite how tired they both were. They discussed the idea of inviting Undyne over for dinner the next day, but then decided against it as Toriel would have their heads if they ruined the kitchen. No matter how funny it would be to see Undyne throw around vegetables and then spear them midair while setting the stove on fire, the brothers preferred it if the woman of the house was happy.

Papyrus sat up for a moment and looked at his brother, rubbing his eyes softly with his remaining glove. "Hey, Sans?"

"Yeah, Pap?"

"Do you... really think Gaster is gone?"

It was extremely rare to hear that kind of concern in Papyrus' voice. It actually sounded like he was afraid that the homicidal scientist would come back one day to try and hurt his friends. Surely, he couldn't be afraid of something like that, could he?

Sans shrugged. "I'm not sure about that. But, if he does, I know a _great_ person that'll be able to stop him."

Papyrus' eyes shined brightly, and his neutral expression turned into a gleeful and excited smile. "Is it I, the _great_ Papyrus?"

Sans nodded. "Yep. It sure is. Now, get some rest. Tomorrow's another new day."

The taller skeleton nodded excitedly and flopped back down onto his spot on the floor. Sans was right, after all. There wasn't a dull day after Frisk freed everyone from that terrible underground world. Things were constantly surprising and astounding Papyrus, even after being on the surface for so long. As far as he was concerned, life after freedom was the second best thing to ever happen to him- the first being his brother calling him great.


	58. The Epilogue

**Ten Years Later**

* * *

Ten whole years passed after the events with Gaster, and life couldn't be any more different for Frisk's family since all those years ago. Papyrus and Sans moved out of Toriel's place and started working as tour guides to the Underground, Asgore was working on becoming friend with Toriel again, Alphys and Undyne moved to live in a log cabin in the woods so that Undyne could train and Alphys could do research in peace, Napstablook and Mettaton became worldwide celebrities thanks to their performances, and Frisk, Asriel and Chara moved out as well once they all got accepted into a university. Things couldn't possibly be more different, and yet, everyone still felt as if they never changed. Sure, everyone still had their daily surface struggles that includes paying bills, not arguing with each other, and attempting not to use their magic out of petty feelings, but that is a part of life.

* * *

"Sans," Papyrus called from the living room of his old house deep in Snowdin, "pick up your sock! It's been here for ages!"

"Nah, it's better over there," Sans replied lazily from the couch.

"What do you mean it's better here?! The tourists are going to be tourist-ing any minute, and I would like our old home to be as presentable as possible!"

Sans rolled over onto his back and looked up at the peeling paint on the ceiling. "But, bro. If I leave it there, it'll be like we never left in the first place. It'll make all this more, uh, authentic."

Papyrus looked at his brother with a tilted head. "Will it really? Hmm... I suppose that makes sense. Yes, it will hold a testament to your laziness that has not changed a bit since we left! Nyeh heh heh!"

The shorter skeleton sighed and sat up, stretching his arms above his head to crack a few of his old joints. Him and his brother didn't really show any signs of aging aside from their clothing. Sans made his brother a completely new wardrobe full of a variety of 'cool' clothes with plenty of heroic themes such as capes, colorful gloves, tall boots, and the occasional hat. Sans... well, he still wore mostly his blue jacket and sneakers, but he developed a habit of changing his undershirt to match current pop-cultural references. His favorite so far was a black shirt with a skeleton's ribcage printed on it, as he found the irony hilarious.

Papyrus sat down next to his brother on the lumpy green couch and patted him on the back. "Strange, isn't it, brother? How we fought so hard to leave this place, and now, we willingly come back here almost every day."

Sans shrugged. "Yeah, but now we can leave at any time. Isn't that a great feeling?"

"Yes, it is! Nyeh... heh... ah... Sans?"

The smaller brother looked at his sibling quizzically. "Yeah?"

"Do you remember when we first met Frisk? All the puzzles we showed them? The wonderfully platonic date they and I went on?"

"'Course I do. I remember it like it was a week ago. Why?"

Papyrus hung his head low as he held a melancholy expression. "I miss trying to capture them for Undyne. I miss showing them puzzles that they struggled with. Now, capturing them and dropping them off at Undyne's place at 3 AM is no fun. And, they've seen all my puzzles. I almost... wish we could do all that again."

If Sans had a heart, it would have stopped at that very instant. For a moment, he had incredibly vivid flashbacks of all the resets and of everything Frisk did in those past timelines. it was almost enough to get him to cry, but he held onto his composure for his brother. "That'd be boring, wouldn't it? I mean... you'd probably have some memories of all that, so it wouldn't be any fun. Why not look forward to the unknown future instead, by friendo?"

"Hmm... yes, you are correct for once! Instead of trying to recreate past events, I should make completely original ones! Perhaps tomorrow, if Frisk is not busy, we can go to the carnival and solve _other_ people's puzzles there!"

"Heh. That's the spirit, man. Uhh... I think I heard a knock at the door. It's tour-time."

Papyrus stood up proudly from the couch and struck a heroic pose. "Nyes, it is time to tour the town of tourist-nessess! Come, brother. We must show the humans our legacy! Br... brother? Sans?"

As Papyrus gave his speech, Sans slipped quickly into a deep sleep while sitting up. Pap wasn't even upset because of this. If anything, he was happy that his brother hadn't changed a bit.

"I suppose you can sleep this day out, lazybones. After all, the great Papyrus needs to brush up on his touring skills!" Papyrus patted his brother on his head and smiled at how peaceful the lazy little guy looked. "You can help out tomorrow. For now, sleep tight for both of us."

* * *

Toriel rocked back and forth in her rocking chair on the porch of her home. it was a beautiful summer dusk, and she was just enjoying the peace and quiet to herself for once. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming... it was a beautiful day outside. Even as the sun went down, it was still pleasantly warm enough for the old woman to sit out and watch the time roll by.

Ever since Asriel came back, Toriel could finally feel her old age catch up to her, and she couldn't have been more grateful. After not aging a bit for so many years, she was ecstatic to finally see a change in her physical appearance, along with how she slowed down just a bit when it came to her movements. And, she knew that because her biological son was alive, she would die one day. That, too, was something she looked forward to. This was not because she was sick of living, but it _was_ because all living things must one day die, herself included.

Toriel was just about to stand up to go inside when she heard her cell phone ring from her pocket. Upon taking it out and looking at who was calling, she was surprised to see that it was Asgore. With a roll of her eyes, Toriel answered the phone and tried to sound as cheerful as possible.

"Yes, Dreemurr?" Toriel said into the receiver of the phone.

On the other end of the line, Asgore could be heard tapping his fingers nervously on a nearby wall. "Hey, Tori-Toriel! How are you?"

"I am fine. I was just heading in for the night. And you?"

The anxiety in Asgore's voice could almost be physically felt through the phone, but the monster still attempted to keep his cool. "Good! That is very good. I am well. I... actually wanted to ask you something."

Toriel sighed and scratched the back of her head. "Yes? What is it?"

Asgore took in a deep breath. "Well, we have been talking a lot more often now. I know that you will most likely never forgive me for what I did in the past, but I would still like to treat you like the queen I fell in love with all those years ago. So... what I am asking is... w-would you like to maybe... see a movie with me? This weekend? There are a few things that I think you would enjoy seeing, and-"

"Dreemurr."

Asgore's breathing and heart stopped for a split second at the sound of Toriel's sudden cold, monotone voice. The last thing the man wanted was to be rejected, but he was still prepared for something like that. It was to be expected, after all. "Yes, Toriel?"

Toriel giggled, and the tone of her voice changed to sound somewhat playful. "I shall go with you as long as you pay for everything."

Toriel had no real reason to decline Asgore's offer. She and Sans grew to be nothing more than friends, and in all honesty, she actually started to enjoy Asgore's company.

"Ah! Yes, of course! What time should I-"

"Seven PM this Saturday works for me."

Agore cleared his throat and began scrambling for a pen to write the date down on his calendar. He did **not** want to forget this event. "That is... wonderful! I will see you then."

"See you, Mr. Fluffybuns," Toriel said before hanging up.

For a minute, Asgore couldn't believe what just happened. The woman of his dreams just agreed to go on a date with him, and he didn't even have to do any convincing. This called for a celebration of sorts, and the first thing that came to Asgore's mind was to jump around like the child he was on the inside. The downside to all this is that when you're as big and heavy as Asgore, and you decided to jump around, you tend to damage your hardwood floors.

 _Golly_ , Asgore thought, _I'll have to get that repaired. But for now, I should call Undyne and tell her what happened. She's sure to be overjoyed!_

* * *

"Alphys, watch this!" Undyne shouted to her girlfriend as she wielded a sword much bigger than herself. "Ngaaaaahhhhh!"

With a single swing of such a large and anime-esque sword, Undyne seamlessly sliced down an enormous pine tree that stood before her. The tree was as thick as Undyne was tall, but with her strength and ferocity, chopping something like that down was as easy and breathing. It creaked and crack as it fell, and when it finally hit the ground, the two had to cover their ears because of the earth-shaking thud it produced upon impact.

After the tree fell and the coast was clear of Undyne's weapon, Alphys ran over to her girlfriend and jumped into her arms for a hug. "You're s-so strong, Undyne!" Alphys stated proudly.

"I know, right?" Undyne nuzzled her face against Alphys' neck before pecking her on the lips. "And _you're_ adorable."

Alphys turned a bright red and covered her face while Undyne laughed loudly in amusement. The two couldn't be happier in their current living situations. They lived equal distanced from Asgore and the university where the Dreemurr kids attended, and the woods was large and secluded enough to give the couple plenty of privacy to do whatever they pleased. The only real problems they had was occasionally not being able to pay the bills, but most times than not, Undyne found a way to 'convince' the electric and water companies to keep their services up and running for a few extra days than usual.

"Undyne? Your... your phone is ringing," Alphys pointed out.

Undyne carefully placed her girlfriend back on solid ground and answered her phone. Right away, she regretted putting it right up to her ear, as the boss monster on the other end was quite loud and giddy.

"WOAH, ASGORE! Chill, you nearly busted my eardrum. Say that again?"

Asgore inhale sharply before speaking again in a slightly softer tone. "IT'S TORIEL! I think I might have a chance to be her friend again and we're going on a date this Saturday and-"

Undyne looked at Alphys and motioned her to go inside before continuing her conversation. "I'm proud of you, big guy. So... how much did you have to beg to get her to go with?"

"That is why I called and why I am so happy! I did not even need to grovel or do anything of a similar caliber. She just said yes to me."

Undyne smiled cheerfully. "See? I knew she'd warm up to ya again. Now, if you'll excuse me, Alphys and I are going to binge-watch a new show. Catch ya later."

"Farewell, Undyne."

* * *

"Blooky, sweetheart~! Are you just going to stay in your room forever?"

"...maybe..."

Mettaton stood outside of Napstablook's dressing room after a big show. He knocked on the door a few times, but never got a proper response. So, like the nosey man he is, Metta decided to just let himself into his cousin's dark, plain, dressing room that had various pieces of clothing strew about the black, beige, and white room.

Napstablook sat on the floor in front of a full-body mirror with tears in their eyes (Blooky went from he/him pronouns back to they/them a few years before all this. They felt terrible about changing them after so long, but as always, they were accepted for just being themself). They looked like their usual sad self, but they way they refused to wipe their tears away, coupled with the absence of sounds they made caused Mettaton to worry.

"Gorgeous, are you feeling OK?" Mettaton asked, sitting besides his precious little DJ. "Blooky, please say something. I'm starting to worry."

The depressed robot looked up at Mettaton with tears still streaming down their face. It looked like they desperately wanted to say something, but their lips refused to part, and their jaw denied movement.

Feeling as if any more question would break them, Mettaton silently wrapped his arms around Napstablook and pulled them into a hug. They only acted like this one other time, and that was when they told MTT and Alphys about changing their pronouns, so Mettaton wondered what could have possibly been on their mind after so many years of their average crying bouts.

After a few minutes of complete and utter silence, Napstablook began to speak. Their voice quivered, and they were even more quiet than usual, but the fact that they spoke took the weight off Mettaton's chest.

"Metta...ton...?"

"Yes? What is it, pumpkin," Mettaton replied in a soft, positive voice.

"I... is it OK if I... I know it's selfish... but... c-could... No, I can't say it..."

Mettaton sighed heavily and patted Blooky on the head. "Did you really work yourself up like that just to deny yourself something?"

Napstablook shook their head. "No... I... just think it's stupid..."

"It is **not** stupid. Now, please tell me."

The melancholy machine took a few deep breaths before continuing. "C-Can I maybe... sleep... in your bed tonight?"

And just like that, all the stress that was piled onto Mettaton faded away and was replaced by muffled laughter. He honestly couldn't believe that Blooky got so upset over something that he wouldn't mind at all.

"Oh... you're laughing at me... I knew it was stupid, I-"

"Oh no no no! I don't think it's stupid at all. I just think it's a bit silly that you'd do so much crying over it! You know I adore you, and I love spending time with you."

Napstablook wiped their face dry, and hugged Mettaton close. "You don't think it's... annoying... how I always want to be so close to you?"

Mettaton shook his head. "Not in the least. In fact, I hope you're with me until the end of time. I'm working to keep us that way, you know."

The smaller, now less-sad robot rubbed their eyes with the back of their hands. "You promise?"

Mettaton smiled and hugged his cousin close. "I promise."

* * *

On a very familiar wooded side of Mt. Ebott that became slightly less overgrown in the past eleven years, three young adults were resting on their backs while watching the sun go down. The stars around that area tended to be exceptionally bright during summer evenings, and the three had a few fireworks on hand to celebrate them passing their most recent tests. As most would figure, these three people were non other than the Dreemurr kids, who all neared the age of twenty, but not a single one was of that age quite yet.

The two humans lie on their backs on either side of the single monster that they considered to be their brother. The sky that they stared at for so long soon became a deep, dark blue with white specks peppered across it. The air in their surroundings was warm and carried a soft breeze that slightly shook the green leaves of the trees around them. In the general direction of the entrance to the mountain, the trio could hear Sans and Papyrus talking to the leaving tourists. With all this happening at once, you couldn't feel more at peace with the world.

Chara sat up from their spot and stretched their arms above their head. "You guys think it's dark enough to set these off yet?"

Asriel dug through his pockets, frantically searching for something. "Yeah! Lemme just..." he turned both of his pockets inside out, only to find a bit of money and a set of keys. "I left the lighter in my room!" Asriel exclaimed, looking at Chara with an ashamed expression. "Chara, I'm so sorry..."

The human in the green and yellow hoodie let out an exaggerated sigh before placing a hand on Asriel's shoulder. "Azzy, you ARE the lighter. Gee, how do you forget about your fire magic?"

"O-Oh, haha.." Asriel rubbed the back of his head, obviously feeling and looking embarrassed. "Right. Sorry."

Frisk covered their mouth and laughed softly. Things like this would often happen, where one of the two siblings would do something wrong, and the other would point out the most simple solution. For example, when Asriel got gum stuck in his fur on his ear. He was so worried that he'd have to cut his ear off, but then Chara just clipped the gum out with a pair of scissors.

Asriel snapped his fingers, causing a small spark to fly out from them before a purple flame danced on his fingertips. Chara used this flame to light a bottle rocket of sorts, and soon enough, the sky was filled with dazzling colors and radiant sparkles. The patterns creating were mostly generic until Chara brought out the magic ones that made familiar faces and sayings. Everyone agreed to buy the magic fireworks after that, and they also agreed that this was the best way to celebrate passing marks.

Once all the fireworks were used up and had died down, the humans and monster wondered that they were going to do next. They could go back to their dorms, yes, but the night was still young and nobody had the will to get up after seeing such beautiful things vanish before their eyes.

Frisk asked Chara what they wanted to do now that there was no point to being outside anymore.

Chara looked at their siblings and shrugged. "I am not sure. Perhaps we could just go back to our rooms and sleep?"

Asriel opened his mouth to say something, only to let out a deep yawn.

"Then it is settled. We go home."

Everyone but Frisk stood up and went on their way. Asriel asked Frisk if they were coming, but the human told them that they wanted to stay behind for a bit, claiming that nights like these are too good to be spent indoors.

Frisk stared up at the night sky for what seemed like an eternity. It was so hard to believe that none of this would have ever happened if they never climbed the mountain. It made them wonder what their life could have been like if they never left home that day. Would it have been better? Worse? After all, Asriel would be stuck as a flower, Chara would still be floating along in Determination limbo, Toriel would still be in the ruins, Sans and Papyrus would wait forever for a human to never come, Undyne's job as Royal Guard would be wasted, Alphys would still be incredibly depressed, Mettaton would have no fans, Napstablook would still be alone, and Asgore would have been miserable until the end of time.

When Frisk thought of it that way, they knew that they made all the right choices.

 **The End**

* * *

[ **Author's Note (long)** : Well. It's finally over. 58 chapters later, and it's done. I know we had our rough points, such and spelling and grammar errors along with a lot of the dialogue being rushed, but keep in mind that this was just something for me to throw all my stupid ships in before it exploded and got kinda popular. Plus, my writing skills are only at about 9-10th grade level, so this was a bit difficult for me. But, hey! I got a little better over time, huh? ANYWAY, to those of you who have been with this since the beginning- thank you for staying. For those who came later on- you're just as valued. To the people who started this in the future once it's been completed- bruh. What took you so long? I've been writing this for months. Ah... with all that out of the way... thanks for reading. I would not have made more than 5 chapters without your support.]


	59. EC 1: Fear Thy Neighbor

[ **Author's Note** : Surprise, you beautiful bastards. I bet you thought you saw the last of me. Well, I've got news for you, sweetheart; I've been recently struck with some... inspiration as of late. See, I thought the ending to this was nice and all, but what happens to the Dreemurr trio when they graduate? Surely, life isn't easy after that. Surely, I could drop a few more chapters every now and then to keep you all updated on their lives. So, without further ado, I give you: **Undertale: After Freedom- Continued** because my mind won't stop yelling at me to write more of this damn thing. If you don't like the idea of this story going on, I really don't blame you. However, this has and always will be something fun for me to write, so feel free to ignore everything after the Epilogue if it bugs you that much. Ah... anyway, please enjoy~!]

* * *

"I roll to decapitate the troll with my dagger."

"Chara, your dagger's too small for that!"

"Did I stutter, Azzy?"

Gathered around a medium-sized table in a medium-sized kitchen of a medium-sized apartment were three siblings/roommates that were holding a riveting RPG session like they did every Saturday. It was a weekly, stress-relieving ritual that started off at them jokingly playing the game for laughs, but soon turned into more of a bonding session for the trio.

Asriel sighed and rolled his blue, twenty-sided die onto the game board that lie flat on the wooden table. As luck was on Chara's side, it rolled a natural twenty that was accompanied by a loud groan from Asriel. "You cut the troll's head off with your dagger, and it lands at your feet. You and each member of your party gain fifty gold and two-hundred EXP."

The siblings had been living on their own for over a month since graduation, and things seemed to be going well. Chara was taking online psychology classes and worked part-time as a cashier, Frisk became the owner of a website that hosted streams of video games and art, and although Asriel still hadn't found a steady job, he did odd-jobs for the neighbors every now and then. Together, they were able to pay bills, rent, and keep a steadily growing bank account.

Asriel dramatically slammed his palms on the table. "Your party encounters a two-headed Owl Dragon! The sign before it says that one head always lies, and the other tells the truth. If you can guess which one tells the truth, you may proceed. If you guess wrong, you must fight it." He looked over to Frisk, who was checking their phone and responding to Toriel's recent text message. "Frisk, it's your turn. What will you do?"

Frisk asked the left head what two plus two is, and also noted that Asriel should stop taking puzzle advice from Papyrus.

Chara laughed at Frisk's decision. "Pfft! Nice one, Frisky-bits."

Outside of their home, shouting could be heard from not too far away. Something like that was common, as it could just be teens being their loud selves as always. The commotion was noticed, but ignored for the moment.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Chara flipped through their game notes to a page that had a detailed and well-shaded pencil drawing of a dragon with its mouth open and ready to shoot flames at whoever dared to anger it. Each and every scale was drawn individually, and the amount of love for the piece could be felt radiating off the paper. "I drew this the other day, and I was thinking about doing commissions online for a little extra cash. The question I have for you two is as follows: Do you think people would pay money for me to draw their characters?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Asriel nodded excitedly. "Heck yeah! Your art is great, Chara. You've really been improving these past few weeks."

Frisk nodded in agreement with Asriel's statement. Chara's art was always excellent, but this was simply incredible, and it must have taken hours to complete.

The voices outside grew louder and louder, to the point of them sounding as if they were right outside the apartment door- it almost seemed like they were chanting something rather repeditive. Of course, Chara found this to be completely unacceptable because of their oh-so important RP bonding time they had, and decided to go out and give them a piece of their mind. This prompted both Frisk and Asriel to go out and stop their annoyed sibling before they got hurt- or, rather, before they hurt someone else.

In the middle of the street during the partly-cloudy Saturday afternoon, a group of about a dozen people marched in circles while chanting something along the lines of, 'Back to the underground where you were found.' A few of them carried sloppily-made signs with big red X's over the general shape of a boss monster. Another variant of the sign depicted humans and monsters separated by a wall.

"What the hell is this?" Chara asked the protesters impatiently. "Did you all learn nothing from school about how harmful this mindset is? Can't you see that it's specist?"

One of the protestors firmly told Chara that monsters are basically animals, and that animals should not be held on the same level as humans. If monsters were to be equal, then they should be separated from humans because of their deadly magical abilities. They seemed serious about the nonsense they spouted, even though it would sound ridiculous to a normal person.

Chara was a split-second away from shouting about how wrong that person was while pummeling them into the ground, but luckily for the protester, Asriel and Frisk were there to keep them on a more merciful route.

"Easy, Chara." Asriel patted them on the back. "Not everyone can be so accepting. Besides, it's only a small group of people. I'm not going anywhere."

Frisk reminded Chara that Undyne once hated all humans until she was shown how nice they can be. Perhaps these people would understand why their way of thinking wasn't progressive by seeing just how kind and loving monsters truly were.

With a sigh, Chara calmed down. "I know, guys... It's just that in my experience, monsters have always been nicer than humans. Only humans go out of their way to hate an entire group of people over things they can't control." They gave a soft smile to Frisk and Asriel. "This is just like old times, is it not? You two keeping me from murdering someone and all."

Just as it looked like things were boiling down, one of the more angry protesters that held a sign aggressively walked up to Asriel to do who-knows-what to him. Chara noticed his approach before anyone else did, and they could see the hatred in his eyes burn more fiercely than any of aspect of him.

Instinctively, Chara pushed Asriel out of the way to protect him from anything the man was about to do. They made the right call by doing so, as the man would have punched Asriel in the ribs instead of Chara. The man was unable to pull away his fist in time before it connected with Chara's body, and in a matter of seconds, they collapsed to their knees in pain. It definitely felt like one of their ribs was cracked, and since they hadn't been able to build up their pain tolerance in quite some time, they were unable to recover.

The man looked at Frisk and Asriel with wide eyes, and held up his hands in defense. "They jumped out in front of me! I swear! I didn't mean to hurt 'em!"

At that point, Asriel threw his mercy out the window, and was ready to beat the greasy middle-aged ball of ignorance that was shaped like a human into the dust. He wanted to summon his Chaos Buster to blast the man away, but fate had other plans as a short, familiar figure tapped the man on the back- causing him to turn around and face whatever wanted his attention.

"Hey, pal. Don't be a numbskull. Otherwise... I'll have a **bone** to pick with you."


	60. EC 2: Bugs and Plans

[ **Author's Note** : The funniest review I've gotten so far said "THANK HARAMBE YOU CAME BACK YOU AMAZING SPECIMEN". Was it a helpful review? No. Did it offer critique? No. Did it make me laugh my sides off at 4 AM? _You're damn right it did_. ]

* * *

While Asriel and Frisk helped Chara get back on their feet, Sans the skeleton made his debut at the protest with his iconic smile and generally laid-back attitude. His normally blue outfit was somehow changed to a very familiar shade of purple that brought up some painful memories for both Chara and Frisk, and they wondered why he wasn't in blue like usual. The discoloration was most likely caused by something going wrong with the laundry, and the color may not have been entirely intentional.

Sans looked up at the man Asriel was ready to destroy, and then shifted his vision to Chara. "What's up, buttercup? Why's this guy askin' for a bad time?"

The protester was about to spout his hot air all over the place, but luckily, Sans wasn't up for listening to it all. He used his blue magic to grab ahold of his Soul, and pulled him down so that he could make eye-contact. "Hey, pal. You hurt my friend, and you got the nerve to say that monsters are dangerous?" He sighed, released the man's Soul, and then continued talking. "If you're so worried about the safety of your own kind, I'd suggest that you try a more... peaceful approach. Capiche?"

Sans walked over to Chara, and offered to have them lean on him if they were in serious pain. They accepted, but only because it probably looked funny to have their elbow on the top of his head while he told their attacker off. "You know, if I could be bothered, I could call the cops and have you arrested for assault and disturbing the peace. And, uh, my bro's on the force, so I can guarantee that you won't be let off with just a warning."

With that, the arrogantly ignorant humans left and took their negative air with them, and Chara couldn't have been more pleased. With them gone, they could get back to their game and show Asriel how a dungeon was meant to be conquered.

"Is it just me, or have you gotten taller since I last saw you?" Sans walked out from under Chara's elbow and reached under his shirt to pull out a hot dog. "Oh, that's where i went." He looked up at Asriel and winked. "You guys need to stop growing, or else Papyrus'll see it as a challenge and start wearing high heels. And, trust me, the guy isn't as elegant as he thinks he is."

Asriel squatted to look at Sans, and smiled with both his mouth and eyes. "You might wanna tell him that we're not stopping anytime soon. I haven't been this tall since-" Asriel opened his eyes and stopped smiling "N-nevermind... I'd rather not talk about that."

"Easy for you to say," Chara said loudly. "You've got a couple inches on me and Frisk still. _You're_ the only one who needs to stop growing!"

Asriel stood up and rubbed the back of his head. "Aww, you're just mad cuz you're short! Why can't you be more like Frisk and roll with the punches? Just accept your height and move on with your life."

Chara playfully rolled up their sleeves. "I'll show YOU 'rolling with the punches' in just a moment."

Sans stood between the two while holding the hot dog one hand, and keeping the kids separated with the other. "Uh, guys? This is cute and all, but I'd like to know exactly what happened here. There's got tibia explanation for it."

Frisk explained what happened, and why the man attacked Chara in the first place. They told him that he was going to hurt Asriel instead, and that Chara pushed their brother out of the way.

Sans nodded and ate his hot dog in a rather peculiar manner; Instead of opening his mouth like his brother, he just pushed it through his teeth like a mail slot, and allowed it to fall wherever food went when he ate it. "Sounds to me like these people are a real problem. Pap's got reports of these groups popping up downtown, and now they're in more suburban areas. They like to call themselves, Humans Without Fear, or HWF. They're not that popular, but they're annoying. We've been thinking of a way to get a message out about them to a lot of humans that currently lack this mindset, but nobody wants to print something out in the paper."

Frisk's eyes lit up, and they excitedly explained that they could make a video about it on their website. They had more than enough loving fans, and surely it would get the message out to people far and wide.

Sans snapped his fingers. "Ayy, that's a great idea, kid. Not sure why I didn't ask you sooner." He shrugged. "I probably just forgot. But, for now, I should be on my way. I was supposed to get groceries, but, ya know... I took a few breaks before I began, and wound up in the neighborhood. It happens." As Sans walked off, he lifted up his shirt and pulled out the previously eaten hot dog once again. He scratched the top of his head and looked at Frisk. "This keeps happening. Anything I eat really goes right through me, and I have no idea why."

Back in the house, the trio decided that they would set their game aside and use their strategies in the real world for the greater good. Frisk had their webcam all set up, and Chara and Asriel were busy writing up a script of sorts to properly and professionally get their point across as best they could. Although, with how messy their room was because of the other two residents, they had more to worry about than just a script. Presentation was key, and the piles of dirty clothes behind Frisk's desk certainly wasn't going to give off the best vibe.

Once everything was set up, and while the siblings were cleaning, Asriel noticed something odd about Frisk's computer. The monitor began to flicker and glitch until the webcam application had closed. Frisk went to go investigate, and by the time they sat down to see what was up and why their antivirus wasn't doing anything, the screen turned a deep red, and the computer itself refused to shut down even after being unplugged.

A single line of text in a strangely familiar blocky font stood out from the threatening red on screen.

" **Hacked by the anti-monster magics of HWF member Mitrick.** "

Frisk tapped their fingers on their desk as they thought of what to do. All their files were inaccessible, and their website would be without an admin until it was fixed- that is, if this odd virus didn't delete everything before it decided to magically function without power.

"Humans... cannot use magic," Chara muttered. "There's no way that this could have been done by a human. It isn't possible."

"Actually," Asriel intervened, "way back when the barrier was made, some humans known as Magicians were able to use magic. There were only seven at the time, and I heard that true magic users became more and more scarce throughout the years."

"But scarce does not mean non-existent. So, this very well _could_ be the doing of a human."

Frisk's eyes widened when they processed what Asriel said. They explained to their siblings that if this person truly was a Magician, and that if people were serious about driving monsters back into the underground, then they could be set back to square one, and the monsters could be trapped once more.

Asriel shook his head. "But this is only one guy! If we're forced down there again, you or Chara could come down and break it."

Chara took a step back and rubbed their chin thoughtfully. "No... no, they would know that. And, those Magicians from all those years ago didn't have the technology we have today. For all we know, they could use a different method to keep you trapped. Or worse- they could herd all the monsters to one spot, and reduce you to dust with a powerful spell. This is no longer a situation that can be handled by being peaceful. We're going to have to warn everyone, and find this Magician before anything else happens. Offense is now required."

With a nod and a determined smile, Asriel and Frisk agreed with Chara.

Chara smiled lightly, and they drew in a breath to say something else of importance. "But first, Frisk should Save before we do anything just in case we mess up. Safety first, yes?"

Frisk quickly went over to the Save Point by their bed, and saved their file. They were lucky to do so before they did anything drastic, because the last time they saved was before they took their final exam at the university. If they died and had to load from their, Frisk would probably prefer being dead than go through that again.

"It is done?"

Frisk nodded.

"Then let us begin our plan of attack."


	61. EC 3: Finding the Source

Back at the modern kitchen within the home of the Dreemurr siblings, an attack plan was being made. Instead of strategizing on their game, they were coming up with ideas on how to help take care of the HWF members- at the very least, they were going to find a way to fix Frisk's computer. Every idea was written onto paper instead of being kept in their phones to ensure that they wouldn't back hacked again, but even if that was the case, the trio were drawing blanks for the time being.

Frisk restated that they had to find a way to get the presence of these people known to the public through any other means aside from a newspaper article or something online. With those two possibilities crossed off, it would be almost impossible to spread information, but there had to be _something_ they could do.

"I'd make a post on my blog, but I don't want my phone or account to get hacked," Asriel stated. "How did people get their news before the internet or paper delivery?"

"We could try the news," Chara suggested, "but I am unsure as to how we'd convince anyone to let us tell our story on live television. For all they care, we could just be a couple of millennials trying to get a rise out of people. It's a shame we can't just broadcast it ourselves."

Frisk felt an idea came to their mind when Chara mentioned broadcasting it themselves, and they stood up excitedly as they pulled out their phone. Chara and Asriel asked what they were doing, but Frisk only waited for whoever they were calling to pick up. They figured that it would be better explained if they got the person on the other line to speak.

After three rings, the phone was answered, but not by whom Frisk was expecting. It sounded like someone was rubbing a soft fabric against the receiver, and occasionally, they could hear rapid, shallow breathing. Whoever was on the other end then hung up, and Frisk tried once more. Maybe they called at a weird time, or the person answered and didn't realize it.

Again, the line was answered, but nobody spoke. Instead, tiny footsteps with little claws against a wood floor could be heard, along with louder breathing. The line was dropped once more, and Frisk was starting to get frustrated.

For the third and last time, Frisk dialed the number. Nobody answered, and it went straight to a loud, obnoxious voicemail.

" **Hello, darling! You've reached Mettaton. If you're hearing this, I'm probably too busy to care about whatever you want. Don't leave a message unless I know you personally. Toodles~!** "

"The robot is not answering, is he?" Chara asked with their hands folded in front of their mouth and elbows propped up on the table.

Frisk shook their head slowly.

"Then, we go with plan B: Track the hacker."

Asriel looked at Chara with a raised brow. "Uh, Chara? That sounds good on paper, but I don't think any of us would be able to do that. I don't even know how to change the password on my phone."

"Not us, my dear fuzzy friend. We can get an outside source for this. A certain... cold-blooded and scaly monster. One who spends most of her time on the computer."

Asriel's eyes lit up. "Oh! Yeah, Alphys could totally do this. Frisk, you should call her while we wait for Mettaton to get his stuff together."

Frisk nodded and rang Alphys. They anticipated a long wait since she still wasn't great at talking on the phone, but at least they weren't going to be disappointed if she didn't pick up for the first few times.

While the phone rang, Chara held a pained expression on their face, and they gently clutched their chest. The man that had punched them was clearly aiming to do some real damage, and it was showing. Luckily, Asriel had been working on using his healing magic with Toriel, and was able to at least ease the pain by placing a hand on their back. A soft, green aura radiated from their hand, indicating that the magic was working. He still wasn't great with it, but his powers came in handy whenever someone got a papercut and had to do the dishes.

Surprisingly, on the first try, Alphys picked up the phone. Unsurprisingly, it took her a moment to gain the courage to actually speak. "...H-hello? Frisk, what's up?"

After taking a deep breath, Frisk slowly explained to Alphys that their computer was hacked by activists, and that they wanted to find out where this person was so that they could reason with them. They also tried to calm her down after explaining all this, as it wasn't something she was needed for every day.

"Frisk, t-this could be really serious! Shouldn't you m-maybe call the police? It's illegal to hack someone... isn't it?"

Chara snatched the phone from Frisk- the look in their eyes indicated that they had a plan. "Alphys, dear," Chara cooed in an unusually sweet voice. "It really would be such a shame if your lover, Undyne, found out about all their weird erotica you write while she's out working with Papyrus."

Alphys snickered. "N-nice try, but Undyne is the one that helps me write those!"

Chara turned the phone away from them for a moment to curse under their breath. Once that was out of their system, they formulated a new strategy. "You know, Alphys... calling the police really wouldn't do much good. It was hacked via magic, and I just figured that it'd be something you'd be best at. In all honesty, **you're** the only one that can help us since there's a very small chance that any cop we get is a magical engineer such as yourself. In other words, Alphys, we really need you."

There was a bit of silence on the other line that was followed by a loud, whiny groan. "If you r-really need that kind of help, then I guess I'm the only one for the job, huh?" She sighed softly, and a small metallic ' _clink_ ' against the phone would indicate that she pushed up her glasses. "B-but if you get into big trouble, I'm not taking responsibility for this. G-got it?"

A huge smile crept its way onto Chara's face as Alphys gave in to the pressure of praise. "Thank you, Alphys. Get over here as soon as you can, alright?"

Not even a second after Chara had hung up the phone, it began to ring, and it effectively caught Chara off guard and scared the hell out of them. As one does with a handheld object that gave you a heart attack, Chara reflexively flung the phone across the room like a pitcher at a baseball game. Luckily, Frisk had the reflexes of a decent catcher of the same game, and caught their precious device before it smashed against the wall of the kitchen.

Frisk looked at Chara with narrow eyes before they answered the phone, and were greeted with a voice that was almost as obnoxious as the voicemail they heard earlier.

"Frisk, is that you?" Mettaton asked enthusiastically. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about not getting to you sooner. An annoying little ball of fluff got to my phone, and Blooky and I have been chasing it around for quite some time now. Anyway, what does my little ambassador need, hmm?"

Frisk asked Mettaton when his next live show is.

"My next live show can be whenever I want it to be! Why? Are you trying to promote your website? I wouldn't mind being the mascot, you know~"

Frisk told Mettaton that Asriel was already the mascot, and that they needed to be on his show for another reason. They explained the situation more precisely than they did with Alphys, and unlike his creator, Mettaton didn't start to freak out.

"I'd be more than happy to help you! _Especially_ since it should keep my kin safe and sound by raising awareness. But, uh... do you think you could change out of your striped sweater for once? I know you have about a dozen of those things, but you should really branch out in your style. Are all three of you still wearing those things? If you are, I'm going to take you all shopping when this is over with."

To avoid the obvious answer to Mettaton's last question, Frisk informed him that it wasn't important.

"I suppose you are, aren't you? Don't worry, dear. We'll dress you up all nice and pretty when you get here. What time should I send the limo to pick you up? ...Whenever? Great! I'll be there right away. See you then~!"

 **Click.**

"I honestly have no idea how you put up with that machine," Chara admitted. "Just listening to you talk to him made me tired."

"At least you don't have to go to the show," Asriel pointed out. "Frisk is going all by themself. Just like old times!"

Chara propped their elbow on the table, and rested their cheek on the back of their hand. "You say that one more time, and I'll tie your ears together with a rubberband while you sleep."

Whether they were joking or not was unknown, but Asriel let out an anxious laugh as to play along with his sibling.

* * *

"Goooood evening beauties and gentle-beauties, and welcome to: MTT Live~!"

Stage lights were blaring as 'It's Showtime' played for the articulated host. He waved to the mixed audience of humans and monsters, blew kisses, and returned their joyful smiles. The lights that reflected off of the sparkling pink curtains filled the room with a dazzling hue of rose pink that contrasted nicely with the dark gray stage and the many, many fans both in and out of their seats. Despite it being a last-minute show with tickets being put up online for only a half hour, every seat was taken, and there wasn't a moment of silence until Mettaton called to have the music cut off so that he could speak.

The stage lights were shut off, and the regular overhead ones flicked on to clearly show the stage, the guests, and of course, the star of the show. It didn't take long for Mettaton to get everyone to shut up, but then again, it never did.

"Thank you so much for coming here today, everyone. It truly means the world to me that you'd visit my little ol' show without it being advertised on television for a week beforehand like usual. ANYWAY-"

Frisk stood off to the left of the stage behind a sparkling curtain that left glitter on their fingertips when they reached out to touch it. They wiped the glitter onto the galaxy-themed dress that Napstablook helped them pick out in the dressing room. The dress went down past their knees, so Frisk didn't feel all too uncomfortable in it, but it still wasn't something that they'd usually wear. However, they couldn't just say no to Napstablook's face after they picked it out especially for them. At least the material was stretchy and soft to the touch.

"-But enough about me. Now, here's the star you've all been waiting for! The ambassador of monsters, the eighth fallen human, the master of determination-!"

Just as Frisk was about to walk onto stage, they felt someone grab them from behind. They turned around to face their assailant, and were met with a sharp pain in their lower stomach. Whoever the person was had their face covered by a sort of white mask with the ' _:3_ ' emoticon painted onto it. They also had some kind of pointed weapon in their hand, which of course, was the source of the pain in Frisk's body. The person was mostly likely a member of HWF, and even if they weren't, they still attacked some random human without being provoked, so Frisk wasn't going to just let them get away.

Knowing that Frisk could bring their attacker to justice... and that this could answer some questions about the activists... it fills you with DETERMINATION.

So, then... why is Frisk feeling dizzy from such a minute injury?

* * *

"Where's the USB p-port, Asriel?"

"It's right on the front there."

Alphys knelt in front of Frisk's computer with her own laptop by her side. The screen of the desktop was flashing red, and still displayed the text from before, despite it having been unplugged for over an hour. Although this seemed somewhat intimidating for your average software engineer, Alphys didn't bat an eye at it.

"And, you are certain that you plugging your laptop into this corrupted mess won't do anything to it?" Chara asked inquisitively.

"Even if it does-" Alphys adjusted her glasses "-it wouldn't matter. This laptop is old, a-and I already transferred all my important stuff t-to my new one."

Asriel scratched one of his ears. "By 'important stuff,' do you mean-"

"Yes, my fan fiction."

Once Alphys was plugged into Frisk's computer, immeasurable amounts of code flew across both screens, and Alphys began to type away. "C-could one of you plug the computer back in while I do this? Once we have control again, the m-magic won't be working anymore, and it'll shut off if we don't."

Chara nodded and did what Alphys asked. Shortly after than, Alphys clapped her clawed hands together, and smiled at the siblings. "Guess who just tracked your hacker's location?" She reached down and pressed a single button on her laptop, and with that one motion alone, Frisk's monitor looked like it was back to normal. "Guess who just fixed your computer, too?"

Asriel hugged Alphys as tightly as he could without hurting her, and Chara joined in on the hug because they didn't want to feel left out.

"So, we can just stroll up to wherever the hacker was doing this from?" Asriel asked enthusiastically.

Alphys wanted to nod, but she was being held too tightly. "Y-yeah, basically. Just be safe, alright? C-call Undyne for backup, even."

Speaking of calling someone, Alphys' phone began to ring while she was nearly turned to dust in a duel-hug. The Dreemurr kids released her from their grip once they heard her phone go off, and they studied her laptop for the location of the coward who hacked them.

"H-hello? Mettaton? What's- H-hey, slow down! What's going on? ... WHAT? No, don't panic! Don't kill anyone either, th-that goes against the laws of robotics! Just... come and pick us up!" Alphys stuffed her phone back into her pocket, and turned her attention to Chara and Asriel. "M-Mettaton is taking us to the hospital. Frisk was attacked."


	62. EC 4: Mercy's True Nature

**[** **Author's Note** : Did you know that in Undertale's demo manual, Mercy is described as an almost magical ability that can change an opponent's mind, and make them not want to fight anymore? In other words, a form of **mind control**? Like in Alphys' anime that had Undyne convinced that humans had mind controlling capabilities?

It'd be kind of cool if this ability was somehow enhanced through certain means, huh?

I just thought you guys would like to know all this for **no reason in particular.** No reason at all. Especially since lord Toby has been neglectful on more info. _Somebody's_ gotta give the people more. I'm not saying it's me, but it's probably me.

Anyway, please enjoy my words. **]**

* * *

Frisk froze up from the shock of what just occurred. The person before them pulled his weapon out of Frisk's abdomen, and then, in seemingly slow motion, attempted to run away. He looked like a character from a video game with normal a running animation, but a movement speed that was cut in half. This situation didn't feel as if what actually happened, but Frisk had to go along with it regardless.

No matter how hard Frisk tried, they couldn't run after their attacker- they couldn't even leisurely jog in his direction. They were quite literally frozen in place as he ran off. Parts of him seemed to drip off before hitting the floor and solidifying; almost like hot wax. With each step he took, chunks of his shoe were left melted on the floor is small, viscous puddles.

Whatever this was, it certainly wasn't reality.

Frisk called out to their attacker, and told him to stop. They could remember doing this twice now, as they could recall doing the exact same thing to a man that was less melty. However, during both times, the man stopped. He then slowly turned around- his combat boots stuck fast to the floor, and the rest of his legs just twisted around like clay. The black jacket he wore melted into the blue jeans that he had on, and formed a murky puddle beneath him. The mask he had on began melting as well, but whatever it was made of was much thicker than the rest of his body, as it only made its way down to his neck.

Once the man was done turning and melting into an amalgamation of clothes, skin, and wax, his body began to solidify on the floor. Being half-melted and frozen like that, he looked like a man-shaped candle that had been used at least once. The surface of his clothes, skin, and mask became glossy as the "wax" hardened. It wasn't long before he stopped moving altogether, and soon enough, police officers stormed onto stage to take him away.

As the officer's took Frisk's attacker away, the bottom half of his legs snapped off and remained stuck the floor. There was no blood nor guts within the broken limbs, but the police didn't seem to concerned about just leaving waxy chunks of him on the ground- they just hauled him off and went on their way; as police officers normally do.

Frisk can feel a sharp pain in their stomach.

* * *

Asriel and Chara stood outside the door of Frisk's hospital room. Asriel had his parents on the phone, and Mettaton was anxiously conversing with both Frisk's nurse and a police officer. Everyone in the general area was speaking with one another except for Chara. It would seem that they had a lot on their mind after getting the coordinates to their hacker's supposed location, and they didn't act all too concerned about Frisk being stabbed on live television. They knew Frisk could just load up their file if they died, so there wasn't much to worry about.

The rather burly officer before Mettaton implored, "So after attacking them, the guy just stood still and allowed himself to be arrested?"

Mettaton nodded dramatically. "I'm telling you, if it wasn't for that, the criminal would have gotten away! He just stabbed my darling ambassador, they fell to the ground in pain, and they shouted for him to stop. The funny this is that it was almost like he was listening to them, because he didn't stop running until they told him to. After that, Frisk was out cold."

"Actually, the stab wound was superficial," the nurse cleared up. "They hardly lost any blood, and it was no deeper than a centimeter."

Mettaton held his gloved hands up to his mouth, and spoke with genuine concern in his voice. "Was it poisoned, then? Is Frisk going to be alright?"

"There wasn't any other type of substance on the blade than Frisk's blood, sir. There was no real reason for them to have lost consciousness like that unless something happened earlier that day, or maybe they have some sort of disorder."

"Frisk doesn't have any other health problems, ma'am," Asriel added after he placed a paw over his phone's receiver.

The glass door of Frisk's room slide open, and an elderly male doctor with a head of thinning, white hair took a step out. "You boys can come see your friend now," he stated. "Frisk is still asleep, but you can see him if you'd like."

"Actually," Asriel intervened, "Frisk and Chara aren't boys. They're-"

Chara placed a firm hand on Asriel's shoulder, and cut him off. "It's fine, Azzy. Let us see how our sibling is doing."

 *** Looks like Chara still needs to work on the "talking normally" thing, huh?**

Chara, Asriel, and Mettaton entered the hospital room, and the old man was right behind the three. Asriel hung up his phone, and Chara was the first one to stand beside Frisk's bed. To their surprise, Frisk's eyes were opened before they got there. A collective sigh of relief could be heard come from their loved ones as a smile appeared on their face. To see familiar figures around them filled the human with more than determination, and their soft smile gave Chara a bit of hope for humanity. It was rare to see Frisk display much emotion aside from their trademark blank expression, so this truly was a heartwarming sight. Frisk just wished that the doctor wasn't there with their family. Something about him gave them a bad vibe, which was rare coming from someone so full of hope for the world.

Without a word, the doctor proceeded to silently leave the room. There was no indication as to why he suddenly left other than the fact that Frisk wanted him gone because of how they felt about him. Frisk didn't even say anything about being uncomfortable with the doc's presence. It was almost as if he read their mind and thought he should listen to them.

Chara and Asriel looked at eachother, and then looked back at Frisk with the same perplexed expression.

"That was certainly something," Chara pointed out. "Mettaton didn't even ask him to buzz off."

Mettaton crossed his arms and pouted. "Frankly my dear, I'm offended by the fact that you'd just assume I'd tell him to leave because of my status."

Asriel cleared his throat. "W-Well, _would_ you have?"

There was a moment of silence before Mettaton responded softly. "...Yeah."

"Whatever the case may be," Chara interjected, "it is not normally like doctors to just leave the room. After all, he appeared very keen on staying here to observe you condition."

"Yeah! Are you magic or something?" Asriel asked jokingly.

Magic.

Now there was a topic that was oh-so convenient, what with the HWF and their magical leaders. With all that's been going on recently, Frisk wouldn't doubt it if they'd gained some sort of _something_ from their attacker. It wasn't unlikely, was it?

In order to test out their new idea, Frisk turned their gaze to Mettaton, and thought about him patting Asriel on the head. Not only did they think about it, but they convinced themself that they needed it to happen. And, after a few seconds of awkward, silent staring, something miraculous occurred.

"Mettaton? You're... uh, why're you petting me?"

Mettaton blinked and pulled his hand off of Asriel's head. "Oh my... I'm terribly sorry about that," he sputtered out. "It just seemed like a good idea at the moment, I suppose. Ah- Frisk, what's with that face? Why do you look like you're planning something?"


	63. EC 5: Three Little Idiots

A soft rain pattered against the windshield of Napstablook's sedan as they drove down a nearly empty road. Mettaton sat in the passenger's seat, and in the back were the Dreemurr children- Chara and Frisk sat by the windows, and between the two was Asriel, who had a wilting potted plant on his lap. Said plant belonged to Napstablook, and they had bought the poor thing because, quote, "I wanted to give it another chance at life..."

Feeling pity for the dying, dry plant, Asriel gave it a gentle "boop" on one of its many gray leaves. Moments later, a tiny golden blossom sprouted from where Asriel touched it, and Chara gave him a light punch on his arm.

"Asriel, if you continue to use your _green thumb_ on every plant you see, we will be overrun by those blasted things. I cannot stand to look at them after our little _incident_. You remember what happened with the cactus as well, yes?"

Asriel rubbed the back of his head. "Oops. Sorry, Napsta."

 _Ring, ring..._

Chara reached into their pocket, and pulled out their cellphone. The overly-kawaii anime icon indicated that it was a call from Alphys, and since Chara wanted Frisk and Asriel to hear what she had to say on the off-chance it was about the HWF, they put her on speakerphone.

"ARE YOU THREE S-SERIOUSLY THINKING OF GOING TO THEIR HQ TO YELL AT THEM OR SOMETHING?"

Napstablook's arms twitched involuntarily, causing the car to swerve a bit before returning to its proper place on the road. They didn't say a word, but their eyes told Mettaton everything he needed to know, as an endless flow of neon tears flowed down their cheeks.

"Blooky? Sweetheart, why are you crying?" Mettaton patted Napstablook on their shoulder, but made sure not to distract them from driving.

"I don't... want my friends... to get hurt..." They wiped the tears from their eyes and took in a deep breath.

On the other end of the line, Alphys cleared her throat. "S-Sorry, but nobody answered my question."

Chara sighed loudly. "It is the best bet we have. Perhaps we can scare them off. And, since they shall not go away, and since they are not playing by the rules, neither should we."

"Also, we need the coordinates again," Asriel chimed in anxiously.

"Excuse me," Napstablook intervened, "But in my... personal opinion... not to be harsh or anything... but... I think what you're doing is kind of... stupid."

Aside from Napstablook, everyone in the car had either wide eyes or a dropped jaw. It wasn't like the spooky little DJ to just say things like that, and it certainly showed. Almost immediately after stating their somewhat harsh opinion, Napstablook backpedaled faster than a toddler on a tricycle that was attempting to avoid traffic. They apologised up and down, left and right, until Chara cut them off.

"I agree with Napstablook; It truly is a stupid plan. However, I've gone through with even more stupid plans in the past, and this simply does not compare to what I did with Asriel to try and free the monsters all those years ago." They gave a shrug and wink that somewhat resembled something that Sans would do. "I'm really not too awfully worried."

Asriel squirmed slightly in his seat, and he tapped his claws against the pot in his lap. "Y'know, I'm not too sure how you can be so comfortable saying things like that. I almost feel sick remembering what happened.

"Oh please, this is not like before. I'm not TRYING to kill myself this time!"

"You're making it worse!"

* * *

Napstablook pulled over at the warehouse that Alphys lead them to. From the looks of it, the place was vacant. Almost every window was broken, bricks were falling from their place, and from the dust that was visible from over a hundred feet away, it was probably quite old.

Once out of the car, Mettaton wrapped his arms around everyone at least three times. If it weren't for their weight, he would have lifted them all up to further exaggerate how much he loved his friends. "Be careful, babies! Blooky and I will be waiting right here for you guys when you're all done."

Chara shook their head. "That is not a good idea. You could be ambushed, as this could be a trap. For both you and your cousin's safety, please return home. Better yet, go see Alphys."

Napstablook sniffled quietly, and did their best to hide the fact that they weren't crying again. Mettaton unwrapped his arms around the kids to go and comfort them, but Asriel already had him beat. He hugged Napstablook, and he was hugged back in return. Little did Asriel know that Napstablook was the kind of person that hugs things until they can hardly breathe, but he learned that soon enough.

"Please don't die," Napstablook whined with their face buried in the crook of Asriel's neck.

"Golly, Napsta! You don't gotta worry about us. We have something these guys don't, and that alone is gonna keep us safe and sound."

After one last goodbye, Mettaton and Napstablook drove off. It was disturbingly quiet once they left, but there wasn't any time to ponder the silence. What they were going through with could most likely lead to an epic battle; or, at least, a small fight. So, the trio took their inventory into account.

Chara reached into one of their rather small pockets, and produced a large chef's knife in their hand, along with a piece of Monster candy. "I think I'm good."

Asriel pointed to Chara's hand. "How long have you had that?"

"Well, I bought some candy the other day and-"

"No, I meant the knife."

Chara shrugged. "That is not important. What about you? Did you bring anything?"

Asriel narrowed his eyes, and allowed his arms to catch fire. "I'm literally magic, Chara. I don't need anything." He turned his head to Frisk, who was more quiet than usual. "I'm guessing you don't have anything because of the hospital trip, huh? Golly. We should have stopped at home for supplies. More Monster food, some better armor..."

While Asriel trailed off, Frisk kneelt down and picked up a stick that was at their feet. Chara looked that them in a way that said, "Are you serious?" Despite this, a smile could be seen creeping onto their face. The stick wasn't going to offer much fighting power, but during one of their runs, Chara saw them beat Asgore with just their stick and bandage. When it came down to it, Frisk was probably better off than you'd expect.

Chara cracked their knuckles. "No more wasting time. Let's go."

* * *

The inside of the dilapidated warehouse was much smaller than the outside had let on. Instead of there being a wide, open entrance, the entire building seemed to consist of a single hallway. From the looks of it, things weren't always that way. The walls were poorly put together, and were made of plywood and drywall. Someone purposely made the single corridor, and they did so in a hurry.

As Chara, Asriel, and Frisk began their stoic march towards whatever danger laid ahead of them, they came across a giant sheet of paper on the wall that someone had written all over in dark blue marker. Their writing was rather blocky, but legible.

"They must be kept in their containers," Asriel read aloud, "otherwise, they shall escape. But, where do they go when they float off? To Heaven? Hell? Is there even an afterlife once they're removed from the body? We just don't have enough disposable ones to find out. Signed... Blackfield." Asriel cleared his throat "I guess they must be talking about human Souls, huh?"

A few more steps later, and another sheet was found. This time, the writing was in purple and was rather messy.

Chara read, "Humans may not be able to absorb other human Souls, but with our technology, we can still harness their power. With enough, we may be able to get rid of the threat... once and for all. Mitrick."

"That's the jerk that hacked Frisk's computer!" Asriel's nostrils flared for a moment, but with a rub on the back from his siblings, he was more than ready to continue. "Geez, why are they just leaving this stuff out in the open?

The next and final giant sheet of paper was actually just several, smaller sheets of copy paper haphazardly glued together. The green writing on it was sloppy, and nearly impossible to read because of how smudged it was. Asriel took it upon himself to read that one.

"GFDI I told y'all to get more giant paper-" he stopped for a moment to chuckle about how stupid this all was before he read on, "-Look at this. It's unprofessional. Signed, uh... Velnus? How do you even pronounce that?"

From this point on, the only thing standing in the way of Chara, Asriel, and Frisk's progress was a large set of double doors that were reminiscent of the kinds you see at school. It didn't take long for them to collect themselves, so without any hesitation, Frisk pushed open the door to reveal something nostalgic. At least, it was nostalgic to Frisk.

In the center of the dark and almost empty room was a DTE extraction machine just like the one in the True Lab. The only differences between the two was the fact that this one had a Soul container on their side of it, and each Soul had the corresponding color for Kindness. The Souls were connected to the machine via various tubes, and they appeared to be pumping energy into it. Another jarring difference included the muscular, dark-skinned woman that sat atop of it. She, too, was connected to the machine through several tubes, but that didn't last for very long. As soon as she saw our heroes, she quickly removed herself from her seat, and walked towards them with a smile on her face. The tubes in her body fell off one by one until she was finally free, and as she drew near, her wardrobe became more visible. She donned a black tank top, cargo pants, combat boots, and dogtags around her veiny neck.

"It's a shame you aren't a flower anymore, Asriel," the stranger began with her chest out and shoulders back. "What was your iconic quote? Ah, yes..."

 *** HWF Admin VELNUS attacks! :3**

"You really ARE a bunch of idiots."


	64. EC 6: Jar to Sky

[[ **Author's Note** : This is a friendly reminder that I write this **for free in my own spare time**. Please do not _**bitch**_ about my updates or lack thereof in the reviews with your poor grammar, abysmal punctuation, and spelling of a second grader. They will not get me to write faster, but rather, they shall make me never want to write again. Oh, and, to those of you who have _not_ complained in the reviews: Thank you for waiting. ]]

* * *

 *** Velnus attacks!**

Instinctively, Frisk and Chara jumped out of the way of Velnus' opening strike; Chara did a quick roll and was back on their feet in moments, while Frisk simply stepped to the side. Asriel, on the other hand, took it head-on, as he is less skilled with dodging... bullets..?

Perplexingly, Velnus didn't use the swings that Frisk, Chara, or any other human would use whilst attacking. Instead, she launched four-pointed stars of pure magic at the trio- much like how a monster would fight.

As one would expect, the Dreemurr kids tried to talk some sense into their assailant in between attacks, but with no success whatsoever. Oddly similar to Sans, Velnus could cut them off mid-sentence, or as soon as they even opened their mouths to get a single point across. Instead, the fight became a dance of death that had Frisk and Chara elegantly dodging the rapidly-spinning stars that would randomly curve to their direction, while poor Asriel was struck at least once each turn.

Attack after attack, Chara and Frisk remained unscathed as Asriel's clothes and skin tore and fell to the ground below him. He began panting heavily, and what little agility he had seemed to vanish, as a bullet landed itself in his abdomen. A white fluid oozed from the wound, and his eyes began to leak a pitch-black goop that clouded his vision to unrecognisable obscurity.

Frisk told Chara that they need to FIGHT this time around. Velnus won't listen to them, and Asriel was about to shake death's hand.

"Frisk, that sounds like something _I_ would say," Chara responded as they ducked under another barrage of stars. "I believe that if we keep going, we may be able to tire her out and-"

While they spoke, a stray attack flew by Chara's face, and grazed their cheek. Blood soon dripped from the wound and onto their shirt, effectively staining it.

Not a beat was skipped as Chara pulled their knife out and lunged at Velnus. They managed to catch something on the blade, but it was just the shirt she wore. Despite how hard or fast they swung, Chara was only able to barely nick Velnus' clothing. Meanwhile, Frisk stood guard in front of Asriel to prevent him from taking anymore hits.

Their attack strategy didn't work out as well as they had hoped, and Asriel was starting to melt more and more as time went on. Having exhausted any other ideas, Frisk and Chara decided to switch places. That way, Asriel could get healed by the monster candy Chara had, and Frisk could maybe use their merciful charms on the abomination that is Velnus.

This is not at all what happened.

Frisk threw their stick to the side as a quick yet effective distraction, and while Asriel healed up, they made a fist, and swung as hard as they possibly could at Velnus' head. A crunching sound was heard, and Velnus reeled back while Frisk shook off the dull pain in their knuckles. Chara couldn't believe their eyes, and if Asriel saw what happened, he would have cheered them on.

This is also what did not happen.

Velnus cracked her neck, smiled through bloodied teeth, and bolted across the room. A small crater was left where she had taken off, and a shockwave rippled through the room after she picked up Frisk by their shirt and threw them against the wall. However, before making contact with the wall, they ran into something else on their way.

Or... some **one** else.

Shortly after the shockwave was felt, a flash of light filled the room, and a familiar but loathsome figure stood in place of Frisk and Asriel. Chara couldn't believe their eyes, and Velnus had never seen anything like this happen before- Not with a living human and half-dead monster, at least.

It was none other than the God of Hyperdeath, but with a twist. Their face seemed to have Gaster's black markings on it, and their eyes were red with heart-shaped pupils. Along with this, the monster's head was more skull-like with sharper features and longer teeth. Their body was also more animalistic, as they had larger hands, feet, claws, and were hunched over a bit. So, really, it wasn't the God of Hyperdeath, but rather a fusion of Asriel, Frisk, and the remains of Gaster that helped give Asriel his form.

In the few moments that the new being had time to think, they settled on the name **Agask** , since it was a combination of all three of their names. Meanwhile, Chara was trying to wrap their head around what just went down.

There is no time to question this insanity.

They have a fight to win.

Seeing as Velnus was just as dumbfounded as Chara, Agask took this time to test out their magic. A being like this would _have_ to have something special up its sleeve, so without much hesitation, Agask deployed a generic fire-attack in Velnus' direction.

For the third and final time, this isn't what happened.

Upon release of their magic, Agask _launched_ a powerful bone-like projectile at Velnus, and immediately on impact, the bullet bursted into white flames. Velnus scrambled to pry the bone from her flesh and put out the fire, and all the while, Agask let more and more bullets fly at her. If they didn't hit their target, they'd set fire to the area around her, making it harder for her to maneuver. She tried to counter the bones with her stars, but this only resulted in fireballs falling to the floor and illuminating the room.

Chara decided to take this time of confusion to go and free the trapped Souls they saw earlier- Maybe by doing so, Velnus would grow weaker, or even stop fighting all together. It was actually pretty easy to go around the fight and smash open one of the jars with a few kicks, but the hard part came when Velnus noticed what they were doing.

Just as the first Soul escaped its glass prison and floated off to wherever Souls go without a body to inhabit, Velnus launched a single star at Chara, and it stabbed them square through their back. It wasn't big enough to come out of their abdomen, but that didn't stop a pool of blood to form at their feet before they knew it. In a matter of seconds, their vision blurred, and they could feel themself begin to fall down. The floor beneath them was sticky with blood, magical residue, and the charred remains of burning attacks, but Chara would by lying if they told you they noticed any of that.

That was when Agask went from scary and confusing... to absolutely **terrifying**. Both Asriel and Frisk feared for their fallen sibling, and what little scraps of consciousness that Gaster had left in their body felt hatred towards Velnus. This overwhelming feeling of boiling anger spilled into both Frisk and Asriel, and without thinking, they opened their mouth to scream and swear at Velnus. Black tears streamed down their skull-like face and stained the surface of it before falling to the floor and burning like acid. Their several hearts raced fast enough to be heard from across the room, and it sounded more like a faint hum that rapid beating.

Velnus froze in place as the blood-curdling howl echoed and reverberated throughout the room. She desperately covered her ears to block out the noise, but to no avail. She realized this within seconds, and took it upon herself to end the horrid noise by killing the beast that it came from. However, by the time she could even think of summoning her bullets, it was already too late.

From their gaping mouth, Agask let loose a blast of red and white magic that both looked and sounded like an overpowered Gaster Blaster beam. This sudden burst of energy made Agask dig their clawed feet into the floor for stability, and Velnus... well... She literally didn't know what hit her.

Velnus' body lie still on the ground as Agask ran over to aid the possibly dead Chara. Luckily, Asriel's healing magic improved tenfold with his newest transformation, and Chara's wound was mended within seconds. Not long after that, they opened their eyes, sat up, and looked over at what remained of Velnus.

A pile of bloodstained dust.

Unsurprisingly, Agask became LV 3 after what they'd done, and there was no going back at that point. Nobody wanted to go through her fight again, and they weren't even sure if there was any other way to stop her.

There was, however, the smallest shred of hope at the end.

With a flash of light, Frisk and Asriel separated, and fell to the floor unscathed. The were both completely exhausted, sweaty messes, but they were each still at Lv 1 for some unknown reason. However it may have happened, they didn't question it at that time.

Before a melancholy silence could fill the room, laughter erupted from Chara, and Frisk and Asriel weakly giggled along. What else was there to do, anyway? For the time being, there was no repercussion for their actions, and none of them understood what happened.

Not yet, anyway.

For now, though, all the could do was set the Souls free, and call Napstablook for a ride to Alphys' place.

An explanation or two would be nice.


	65. EC 7: Fusions and Frantics

"You did WHAT?"

As soon as Frisk, Chara and Asriel arrived at Undyne and Alphys' house, they essentially just threw themselves through the front door, and haphazardly explained what happened back at the 'abandoned' building.

"We just sort of-" Asriel meshed his fingers together, and looked down at Alphys to see if she understood any better, "-fused a little. I don't think I took their Soul or anything since, uh... they're right here."

Frisk raised their hand and smiled to ensure that they were, in fact, there.

Alphys adjusted her glasses, and tapped her feet against the hardwood floor of the living room. The house was a bit of a mess when the trio arrived, but Undyne could be seen frantically picking up 'research' papers and empty soda cans in the background. You wouldn't expect the inside of the house to look so rustic and log cabin-like, but the clashing elements of various weapons on the walls mixed with up-to-date tech scattered about actually blended quite well. The only thing that _really_ stuck out was the oversized pink couch across from the edgeless television on the wall.

"I've... never heard of anything like that," Alphys admitted. "Albeit I'm an e-engineer and not a biologist, but I'm p-pretty sure human and monster bodies aren't supposed t-to do that."

Asriel scratched the back of his head. "We kind of already have done that. Remember when that one snake monster was-"

His sentence was cut short by Chara elbowing him in the side. "Asriel. That technically did not happen, remember? After we were injured, we loaded our last save file, and Undyne finished it off instead."

"That thing gave me one of the BEST fights of my life!" Undyne exclaimed from the couch before she got up to join the others. "Nothing else I ever fought gave me the thrill of fighting something a thousand times my size, having to climb up its tough, steel body, and stabbing it in the freaking head-" she smiled brightly at everyone "-It was AWESOME!"

"We're getting sidetracked," Chara pointed out with crossed arms. "Perhaps that left a sort of impact on us since the timelines aren't completely separate, but it still doesn't explain the fact that Agask gained EXP and LV from that fight, and yet, these two have _none_."

"T-That's probably because they're completely separate people, maybe?" Alphys shrugged. "LV isn't passed down from parent to child, so it might work like that. But since Aask isn't here anymore, it might have... reset? I mean, t-they might behave as a new being each time they're formed-"

"YOU TWO SHOULD TOTALLY FORM THEM AGAIN," Undyne blurted out, effectively startling Alphys, and nearly causing her to leap out of her scales.

"Undyne, they can't j-just do that. Asriel was seriously hurt the last time they did. What if they can only do it when one of them is dying?"

"Then they should do a dance!"

There were a few seconds of silence before Undyne had to and explain herself. She was actually a bit disappointed that neither Frisk not Alphys got what she was referencing.

Undyne threw her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you guys don't remember! We used to watch at least _two_ different cartoons where characters have to do a cool dance for them to fuse together and get swole. There was this one about a dying race, and the green dude fused with a God. The other one had all female characters that could fuse, but the male lead eventually-"

Before Undyne could finish her ramblings, Frisk was one step ahead of her. They didn't really know how to dance, but the definition of 'dancing' is subjective. They simply swayed their hips, bowed their elbows, and snapped their fingers to create a beat that could be followed.

Asriel was hesitant about such an idea. He knew a few moves from old Flamenco videos he'd occasionally watch online, but he didn't feel confident enough to try anything in front of everyone.

Undyne can spot someone with low confidence from a mile away after spending so much time with Alphys, so in order to rid Asriel of his stage fright, she mimicked what Frisk was doing, but with a bigger smile on her face.

Seeing her lover get into it, Alphys swished her tail with the beat, and tapped her clawed feet on the floor. Looking over, she noticed that even Chara was affected by the 'music,' and was tapping their foot in sync with everything else.

Now, Asriel was the only one who wasn't doing any sort of dancing. The smiles he received from his friends and family encouraged him to go along with it, so without anymore hesitation, he copied the moves he saw on the internet. Most of his movements consisted of his arms moving up and around, but Frisk soon picked up the pace, and Asriel began to move his legs.

It wasn't long before the two began to move completely in sync, and eventually, they even switched dance styles. Asriel seemed more comfortable with the simple moves anyway, and Frisk had the potential to be a competent Flamenco dancer. However, they knew that they couldn't do this forever, despite how fun it was. They were dancing for a reason, after all.

At last, Frisk and Asriel closed in on one another. They weren't entirely sure on how to go about the whole 'fusion' thing Undyne mentioned, but from what they could remember from old cartoons, they just needed to... collide into each other.

And so they did.

And bonked their heads.

You could practically feel the let-down in the air when their fusion failed, and even though the whole thing was Undyne's idea, Chara was the one who was the most upset.

"You really should have just went with the same type of dance Frisk was doing," they stated matter-of-factly. "Your styles varied far too much."

Asriel huffed angrily in Chara's direction. "Hey, I was just doing what I knew!"

In response to that, Chara pushed Asriel away from them in a way that they assumed would be gentle, but instead, their adopted brother tripped over their own feet, and began to fall to the floor.

Like the good sibling that they were, Chara quickly reached to save Asriel from his fall before even Undyne could react. However, instead of catching him, they fell on top of him, and a familiar flash of light filled the room just as they both hit the ground. The light temporarily blinded everyone around exposed to, and when they regained their sight, a new person stood in place where Chara and Asriel once were.

This monster... no, this **thing** was unlike Agask, the God of Hyperdeath, or any other type of monster anyone had even seen before. It stood at almost seven feet tall, and had almost no monster attributes to it whatsoever. If anything, it simply looked like a taller Chara with horns sprouting from their head, heterochromatic red and golden eyes, fangs that poked out of their mouth, and claws. It wore Chara's iconic green sweater and brown formal pants, but the sweater had a black Delta Rune on it that almost appeared to have been burned on somehow.

Alphys and Undyne were both absolutely terrified, but at the same time, they were excited beyond description. Alphys now had a way to find out how all this happened thanks to their fused states, and Undyne was just proud that she was right about the dance... in a way.

Frisk, on the other hand, came up with a name for their two-in-one sibling combo.

Agara.


	66. EC 8: Her Worst Nightmare

With such a new and wonderful being gracing everyone's presence, you can't blame Alphys and Undyne for geeking out. Alphys' pupils almost looked like stars for a second, and Undyne was completely unable to stand still, and had to bounce up and down to rid herself of the extra energy. As for Frisk, they had their casual blank expression that they held for 90% of their life. This lack of emotional output was easily compensated by the monster couple's enthusiasm.

While almost everyone was busy taking in Agara's existence, the creature itself looked over its own body, and mumbled something under its breath. Agara had an androgynous adult's voice, but Chara and Asriel's voice could be heard as well, although not as loud. A slight English inflection was peppered in occasionally, however, they hadn't noticed themself.

"I n-need a DNA sample," Alphys announced as she dug around in her seemingly endless lab coat pockets for a cotton swab, which was soonafter produced and handed to the subject. "Could you m-maybe swab your mouth with this? I know I'm not much of a scientist anymore, and I was never really one to begin with, but anyone with access to a DNA testing machine would want to know what you're composed of."

Agara did as they were asked with a similar expression to Frisk's, and Undyne gave her lover a comforting pat on the head.

"Don't worry, babe. You're the biggest science nerd in my eyes- always have been, always will be!"

Soon enough, the swab was handed back to Alphys, whom promptly stuck it into a small tube that was seemingly made for holding said object. After that, it was Undyne's turn to ask them for a favor.

"Let's go outside and see just how strong you are!"

Frisk's eye twitched a bit, and they calmly yet firmly told Undyne that it probably wasn't the best idea to physically attack Agara. They explained their concerns that if they were too badly hurt, that once unfused, one person would take all the damage and die. On the other hand, if they became too badly hurt, Chara's determination could permanently fuse them together. This was something Frisk didn't want to have to load, because their coupled determination might overwrite their powers.

Alphys blinked at Frisk, and raised a claw as if she was going to say something. Her hand was quickly put down before any words escaped her throat, and she looked up at Undyne. "Maybe if you take it really, really easy on them- Er... Agara? Is that what you called them, Frisk?"

Frisk nodded, and Agara smiled at the name. It would seem that the new creature was fond of it, so there it stayed.

"R-Right, so, uh... We should just go out a-and see what they can do on a harmless opponent. Like a tree or something."

Undyne huffed childishly, and made determined eye-contact with Agara. "You'll be fine with my weakest attacks, won'tcha, punk?"

Agara nodded and cracked their knuckles before speaking. "I would be most pleased with that, Undyne. **We** would be happy to test ourselves out."

With that, Undyne excitedly scooped up Alphys and Frisk in one arm each, and dashed out the front door with Agara following close behind. Undyne had lead them to a clearing that was obviously made by her as indicated by the many tree stumps with each individual stump having "UNDYNE WAS HERE" carved into it. Frisk and Alphys were set aside at a safe distance while Agara and Undyne had their little showdown in the middle of the clearing.

No time was wasted as Undyne summoned a spear to throw at her opponent. Normally, it would travel fast enough to make the air around it whistle, but because of Frisk's warning, it flew no faster than an average human's walking speed. Thankfully, the two were only three meters away from each other, otherwise the spear would have taken ages to reach them.

Just before the spear was within grabbing distance, it shattered into a cloud of crystalline blue dust. Agara smirked in a way that made both Alphys and Undyne's hearts go _!?_ as the surrounding air swirled without there being any wind, thus effectively stirring up the leaves and spear residue around them. Their clothes flapped in the artificially moving air, along with their shoulder-length dark brown hair. While this was all happening, a soft chuckle that soon turned into confident laughter erupted from Agara.

This could only lead to one thing.

"You fool," Agara began in a threatening yet cheerful voice. "I am the epitome of the Dreemurr bloodline and pure human determination. Do you truly believe that your mere magical attacks can touch me? They cannot even get near me, let alone simply graze my skin or clothing."

Soon enough, the clearing was filled with a howling wind, and the sky above them darkened despite the surrounding area being mostly clear. Alphys dug around in her pockets yet again, and pulled out a packet of chisps. She offered some to Frisk, but they remained stoic with their **-_-** face.

Agara raised a clawed hand and smiled, showing their bared fangs to their fullest. "I am the demon that comes when their name is called. I am the heir to the Dreemurr throne twice over. I am... Everyone's Best Nightmare."

Undyne produced yet another spear and smiled twice and wide as Agara. "Fuhuhu! That's what I wanna hear, kid! I love that willpower, and **nothing** gives me a good challenge like a well-driven character." She held her spear in both hands, and struck a familiar, heroic pose. The storm-like winds blew through her hair and made her look twice as badass, and this was exactly what she had hoped for. "Come at me, Agara!"

With an anime-esque smirk, Agara leaned forward, and launched themself towards Undyne, leaving a deep indent in the ground they previously stood on. As they closed in on her, Undyne's smile grew wider and wider as she positioned her two spears to brace herself. All of this happened within a span of three seconds, and despite all the hype, something just had to get in their way.

"STOP!"

The two stopped in their tracks as an unfamiliar human emerged from the woods. This human appeared to be male, was quite tall and lanky, and was panting heavily. A lab coat similar to the one Alphys wore hugged his almost skeletal body tightly, and a clerical collar was resting at his neck. In his hand was a book, although, from what everyone could tell, it didn't seem to be tied to any science or religion.

"Who the heck are **you**?" Agara asked in an obviously annoyed tone of voice. Their lip was raised in disgust as they spoke- most likely due to the stranger interrupting the fight.

The man straightened his back, and cleared his throat before responding. "Who the heck am I? Who the heck are YOU? WHAT the heck are you?"

"We asked first."

He tilted his head slightly. "We?" He shook his head, and soon dismissed the thought of the odd-looking person not being an individual. "Alright. I am Sir Blackfield, head Soul researcher for the Humans Without Fear. Now you."

"...This is Undyne. That lizard over there is her wife, and the human next to her is our sibling, Frisk. **_We_ are Agara.** "

"Oh, so you took your friend's Soul?" Blackfield chuckled, and skimmed through a few pages of his coverless book. "Is that how you killed Velnus? You don't look like you have any LOVE."

Undyne almost stepped in to say something to Blackfield, but Agara stopped her in her tracks. "That does not matter. Why are you here? Revenge? Because we could take you on our own. We could take **anyone** , with or without Undyne."

Blackfield looked up from his book with a smile, and quickly closed it before retorting. "Is that so?"

From the thicket behind Blackfield emerged a group of beings that made Alphys drop her packet of crisps and almost vomit immediately.

There were three amalgamates.

Three _new_ amalgamates that shambled forward in a mass of unholy and sacrilegious disgusting piles of magic, determination, and slick fluids that trailed behind them. Their groans and cries were distorted in ways not possible for normal living creatures, and since the wind hadn't completely died down yet, the smell of bitter honey filled the area.

The worst part was that everyone knew who they all were.

The first one was a twelve-legged jumble of rabbits from Snowdin; the most noticeable one was the shopkeeper who melted into the motel keeper and her child, along with a few other rabbit-like residents. A single pair of ears stood tall at the top of the mess of flesh.

Second came the melded smiling demon child and scarf mouse that could also be seen at Snowdin. It one looked more-or-less like a larger version of the demon, but with a scarf that was also a part of its neck. Along with this, it was frowning, and had a large set of melty mouse ears under its horns.

Finally, the amalgamate that finally made Alphys lose her lunch.

It was the monster kid that followed Frisk around Waterfall, and it didn't look like they were combined with anyone else.

Blackfield just injected them with a small amount of determination to see them fall apart and suffer.

Frisk held back tears to the best of their ability, and leaned on a nearby tree to steady themself. They knew that monster personally. They were friends. They were Undyne's friend. Papyrus' friend.

They were such a happy and positive monster.

And now they're struggling to draw in air.

"Your wife Alphys really **did** help a lot more than you know, Undyne. These amalgamates are practically immortal, and with the proper training, they're rather loyal."

Blackfield turned to Agara, and stuffed his book into his coat pocket. This action caught their eye, and something about it felt odd to them, almost like it wasn't just reading material for the sick faux scientist. If they were going to do anything by the end of this, they're going to get their hands on that book.

"So go ahead. **Take them.** "


	67. EC 9: Thalia and Melpomene

"Come at me."

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"End their suffering if you're so strong."

 _This shouldn't be happening._

"I thought a monster with a human Soul was supposed to be all-powerful-"

 **Make it stop.**

"But I guess I was wrong."

̶I̶t̶ ̶h̶u̶r̶t̶s̶.̶

"Dead wrong."

The sounds that the new amalgamates were making made Agara sick to their warped excuse of a stomach. Their words, groans, and squishing noises mingled together in a disgusting cocktail of horrid noises of the damned. They couldn't even walk properly, let alone understand what was going on. They all had this empty look in what used to be their eyes; now only runny whites that drip down their faces remain.

They were suffering. Suffering in such a way that no living thing should have to go through. Those things shouldn't be alive, and yet the crying and soft pleading confirms that they're even completely sentient.

Something had to be done.

And since nobody else had the guts to approach the mess of monsters, it was up to Agara to think of a plan. At the very least, they had to try.

Since the Monster Kid (or rather, **Monster Teen** at this point in time) seemed affected the least by all this, Agara dashed over to them to see if they could do anything to help. Maybe they had the ability to pull Determination from a monster's body. You never know until you try, after all. However, upon approaching the teen, Agara noticed something that they couldn't quite see from a distance.

They were fused with someone.

Someone that only Chara, Frisk and Gaster knew about.

 _spr_mkid_goner_

Half of the monster teen's body was their iconic yellow stripes and smiling face that may have fallen to the floor one too many times, and the other half was a checkered and grayscale version that occasionally spawned white glitch-like squares in the air around it. Each half of the amalgamate's face appeared to be fighting for dominance of the host as indicated by gray overtaking yellow, and yellow overtaking gray in an endless (and painful) cycle. They struggled to stay standing, and replied on their splitting tail for a majority of their balance.

They kept smiling at Agara with one half of their face, and they were sobbing with the other.

"For̴ge̷t a͘b͟o҉ut me.̧.͏.̛ ̴d̴u͜de...҉"

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"Does it pain you to see them like this? I'm assuming you were close, or at the very least, you knew their names."

 _This shouldn't be happening._

"It was hard to get the gray one, you know. FUN values aren't something your average human can alter."

 **Make it stop.**

"So if you care about them so much... **take me out.** "

" _ **Stop. Talking.**_ "

Agara took in a deep breath before staring Backfield down like a wolf about to lunge at their prey. Teeth bared, Agara began to prepare something.

Something _powerful_.

And that was when Blackfield began to backpedal. His cocky tone was dropped, and his expression switched from an all-powerful being to a rabbit beneath a predator; Wide eyes, a gaping mouth, and a rapid decline in confidence. It was quite obvious that he didn't know they'd actually try and strike him where he stood, because all he knew was that Frisk was the mercy bringer, and Asriel was a peaceful creature that refused to harm a Soul.

But he didn't know Chara well.

Nor did he know Gaster.

Although Chara isn't exactly the demon many people think they are, they're much more capable of harming others than either of their siblings. They were willing to get six human Souls with Asriel after they killed themself all those years back. With their own Soul, they'd have the seven required to break the barrier and free their new family. In fact, they were _more_ than willing to give up their own life to save people who they deemed more worthy than them to live. So it only made sense that they'd kill a man for ruining the lives of innocent people, right?

In their mind, it made sense.

On the other hand, Dr. W.D. Gaster would murder someone in cold blood for half a candy bar and a paperclip. Although not much was known about him before he fell into the Core, Chara saw him visit their parents regularly, and he was not the nicest skeleton you'd meet. He successfully split himself into two separate beings to simply put all his redeeming qualities into one, and let the other go off and live its miserable life with 1 HP. His experiment failed, and left his attributes mixed and put into the wrong vessels. His consciousness and hatred remained even after this, and after so many years of being trapped, he is now stuck in the body of a young-adult boss monster that fused with his edgy sibling. He'd have _no problem whatsoever_ with taking out his frustrations on Blackfield if it weren't for Asriel's restraint.

But said restraint was beginning to run dry.

Asriel had a Soul for over a decade now, and even though that meant he was able to feel compassion and empathy, he still had the same "let's kill people because Frisk will just reset" urges that he had as Flowey. Not to mention the fact that the homicidal doctor made up his new Soul, which lead to some pretty strange intrusive thoughts every now and then. All of this coupled with the maniac named Blackfield almost made Asriel reject the compassion in his body and beat the living hell out of the guy, but he had to hold back. Frisk and others were watching, after all. What would they think if he let the others in his body go all-out on a single, pathetic human?

Probably the same thing Blackfield thought the longer he stared at the fusion's contorted face.

From the looks of things, Agara was about to let loose and tear his throat out. Their eyes began to leak a dark red fluid, and they snarled at him like some kind of wild animal that had been heavily infected with rabies.

"H-Hey, I don't like the face you're making," he pointed out. "Do you really think killing me is going to solve all this? Nothing you do can pull these guys apart, you know!"

Agara turned its head to crack its neck. "I am aware," they stated mid-crack. "However, please understand that it will make us feel much... _much_ better."

With that out of the way, Agara gently pushed the monster teen to the side... and dashed at Blackfield. Crimson buttercups sprouted where their feet touched the ground, and a powerful magical energy could be felt spread around their rapidly-moving body. Although they lacked the gigantic claws and teeth Agask had, their magical abilities were multiplied and fueled by Chara's human Soul and close familial bond with Asriel. Finally, they'd be able to **kill** a human while inhabiting their brother's body just like all those years ago. Sure, it wasn't really for a good cause, but like they said: It would make them feel _much_ better, and they just couldn't wait to tear into him.

That is, until they heard a familiar voice call out to them.

Just before Agara could let loose a devastating Shocker Breaker on the wannabe scientist, they felt something outside their body hold them back. Not only that, but they **heard** it too. They weren't able to properly discern it, however the fact remained that the mere sensation this _thing_ gave off made Agara stop in their tracks with Blackfield practically begging for mercy beneath them.

But what was it?

On the other side of the field stood Alphys and Frisk with Undyne standing guard in front of them. And of course, Frisk was practically praying from them not to kill him. Frisk understood their hypocrisy in their request, but in their defense, this guy wasn't directly trying to kill anyone. Blackfield was just an ass that thought he could play scientist like any child with a set of toys and a good imagination.

Chara shifted into control of their shared body and blinked in confusion at the cowering man. They wanted to hurt him. Kill him. Tear into his chest and hold his heart over their head.

But they couldn't.

They physically **could not** lay a hand on him.

For the second time, Chara was being stopped from committing a heinous act that they dreamt of following through with. Only this time it wasn't Asriel's fault because they _knew_ he wanted to go through with it as well. They could feel it in their many hearts and souls beating deep down in their chest. Everyone inhabiting Agara's body wanted vengeance, and somehow Frisk was preventing any physical manifestation of harmful intent.

"...Get out of here."

"W-What?"

"You heard me," Agara said. " **Leave.** We do not want to see, smell, or hear you ever again. If we do, then we **will** kill you."

"But, I-"

" **Now.** And leave your failed kindergarten science projects behind."

"But you don't understand, we just-"

"If you're not out of my sight in the next three seconds then I swear to Asgore, I'll take that book you have and shove it so far down your throat that you'll get papercuts out both ends of your body."

Without another moment of hesitation, Blackfield was gone without a single trace of him having been there in the first place; aside from the new amalgamates he made. Soon enough, Frisk joined Agara's side and pulled them into a tight hug while Alphys and Undyne decided on what to do with their new 'friends'. It would take quite a few phone calls and more shed tears than ever in order for them to set things right, and even through all that, the forcibly-fused monsters and their families would never be the same.

Frisk looked up at Agara, as if to ask if they were alright.

"We're fine, we're fine," they explained before sighing heavily and continuing. "-We just feel... **bittersweet**."


	68. EC 10: Even Darker So

Frisk's eyes opened slowly as they carefully looked around their new and unfamiliar surroundings. The room they were in was completely pitch black, and somehow they could still clearly see their hands, feet, and the color of their shirt as if they were in broad daylight or any well-lit room.

They blinked a few times as they wondered how they had gotten to such an odd place. Just a moment ago, they arrived home after helping Alphys and Undyne deal with the amalgamates. They could remember Agara unfusing, and Asriel calling the new amalgamates, 'Alphamalgas'. They remembered him saying something along the lines of, "If the first batch of them were the very first ones ever made, then they're like the Beta version of something. Now that there's more, and since they were made so much longer after the old ones, they're the Alpha versions."

Frisk could also recall Chara replying, "I don't know whether you are being serious or not, but I cannot blame you for wanting to separate the two batches into different groups for the sake of simplicity."

But instead of being home and listening to their siblings talk about labels, they were essentially in the void. The only things that could be hear was their footsteps, ther breathing, and the same 'music' that played after they destroyed the world with Chara and came back to recreate it. It was also the same music they heard when they gave Flowey Mercy for the first time; it was eerie, and it only reminded Frisk of the mistakes they made all those years ago.

As they turned around in circles, Frisk could just barely see a tiny yellow light in the distance that resembled a single Christmas light. It flickered somewhat, and Frisk could feel it in their Soul that it was most likely a Save Point. If they could reach it, they would likely escape the darkness with their sanity intact. However, things are never that easy for them. With each step they took towards it, the yellow speck of hope appeared to take a step back. No matter how far Frisk ran or how much distance they covered, the light was just as far away as it was when they first saw it.

It didn't take long for Frisk to lose hope, but just before they could stop themself from running, they tripped over something on the floor. Whatever it was, it caught their foot in the same way that a taut rope strung across a room would. Lucky for them, the fall didn't hurt, and that was when they began to think that they were dreaming again.

After recovering from their harmless fall, Frisk felt around on the dark floor in search for what swept them off their feet. They found it rather quickly, and when they held it in their hand, it appeared as if a section of their palm was completely transparent, as the object they held was just as dark as the world they were in; and said object felt like a thick, smooth cable of some sort. It reminded Frisk of the one extension cord they kept in their room that Asriel once stepped on, which caused their computer to shut off in the middle of a live stream.

Since they couldn't physically reach the Save Point they saw from the corner of their eye, Frisk decided to follow the cord-like object held in their delicate yet skillful hands. However, because of how tight the cord felt, Frisk essentially had to crawl on all fours to find out where it lead without pulling in to too hard- They didn't want to break it, after all, so they had to be gentle.

Less than a minute after following the strange object, Frisk happened upon a wall as smooth as porcelain and as black as the rest of their surroundings, so they could have easily run into it without noticing it was there. This was where everything truly seemed to end, because no matter how long they followed either end of the wall, they never strayed too far from the end of the cord. This was apparent when they went to check out the other end of the wall and tripped on the same thing as before not a second after turning around.

With all other options aside from following the other end of the wire being exhausted, Frisk knelt by the wall and felt around the wall to see how the object was attached to it, only to find out that ti was plugged into the wall like any other type of cable.

Without thinking, Frisk gave the cord a swift tug, and the world around them turned pure white- save for the still otherworldly black cable in the floor. The sudden brightness made Frisk shut their eyes tight and lean up against the wall for a few moments. They could have _sworn_ that in the split-second when they pulled the plug and the light was still off, that they saw a green human Soul flash before their eyes. Although, it wasn't quite green; it was the same color that Frisk saw when they closed their eyes and rubbed their eyelids, but it _looked_ green in the moment that they saw it.

Once the stinging in Frisk's eyes had settled, they looked to see where the other end of the wire would lead to, and to their surprise, it didn't actually go very far.

The other end of it lead to a ridiculously large computer monitor of some sort that didn't appear to have any kind of tower or other external device. It was roughly four times taller than Frisk, and its dark blue color made it stand out greatly from the white world. On the flickering screen was the word ERROR in yellow letters that blinked every second or so without a sound.

Frisk would normally be intimidated by something so large, but since the font chosen for the word ERROR was uppercase Comic Sans, it made them wonder what fourteen year-old got ahold of their mom's oversized desktop computer.

As they approached the monitor, the edges of it started to leak a thick, black sludge that reminded Frisk of Gaster. It poured and dripped onto the floor without a sound, and partially coated the blinking screen in the process. The yellow text just barely shined through the liquid with each blink, and from what they could tell, the screen was struggling to stay on. The remaining visible glass twitched and flickered with corrupted boxes of static and bits of color darted around it in random succession. Frisk couldn't help but stare at the anomaly without thinking of where the tar-like fluid was going.

The sound of splintering and cracking glass snapped Frisk out of that hyperfocused state, and when they got a look at their surroundings, they noticed that they were blocked in by the black sludge that crept ever closer to them.

Soon enough, Frisk was backed up against the wall with no chance of leaping over the sludge to escape. The ground that once went on for miles on end was now only a few meters around, and every inch of it had turned an inky black that was still lighter than the cord from before. The air was filled with the smell of burnt rubber that made Frisk cough and gag until they were on their hands and knees. They attempted to use their shirt to filter out some of the smell, but nothing they did gave them relief.

The liquid was then touching their hands, and no matter how hard they tried to pull away from it, they didn't budge- It was as if Frisk was super-glued to the ground. Not only that, but they could feel themself being pulled into the floor as if it were made of quicksand. Their wrists, their elbows, and the tops of their shoulders were pulled into the floor almost as soon as they realized they were sinking.

And next would be their head.

Tar filled Frisk's nostrils as they struggled to take in air. Their lungs were burnt from the disgusting smell and exertion they put on them to try and breathe in a nearly air-tight situation. It wouldn't be long before they died from lack of oxygen, the the thought of that alone made them panic and jerk their body wildly in an attempt to free themself from this hell.

Through all the emotions Frisk felt in the very moment they knew they were going to die there, they could feel something comforting in the depths of their Soul. It was was the same feeling that washed over them when they called out to Asriel and begged him to stop fighting. It was the same feeling when they fought Asgore, and even Sans when they were aware of their mistakes and tried to spare him.

It was the feeling of knowing that all nightmares must come to an end.

Frisk shot up from their bed in the middle of the night, and pulled their heavy blanket from off their face. They took in deep, slow breaths as they tried to assure themself that what happened was only a dream. They could feel their heart racing and could even hear it beating if they listened closely enough.

Standing up, Frisk decided to get themself something warm to drink before going back to bed. However, their first stop wasn't the kitchen; it was their unplugged computer that had a single text document open. They weren't sure how they didn't notice it when they first woke up, but they were glad that they hadn't because of what it said in that same gross font and color.

" **Sweet dreams,**

 **-Mitrick** "


	69. EC 11: Dream Little Dreams

[[ **Author's Note** : And I bet you thought Steven Universe's hiatus' were bad.

Forgive me pls. ]]

* * *

Four days.

Over the course of four days, the Dreemurr kids only had about twenty four hours of sleep between the three of them. Nightmares plagued their once peaceful or nonexistent dreams to the point of them preferring exhaustion over sleep filled with terror. Even if they did decide to sleep, they'd just be woken up in less than an hour by visions that they had no way to control or stop. Sleep was essential for their investigation of the HWF, and without it, they were no more that a group of grumpy teens that could pass as overworked college students.

Maybe not quite as exhausted as college students that take 8 AM classes, but they were getting there.

Asriel, with half-closed eyes, had been mulling over a cup of coffee for about fifteen minutes without moving much at all. The mug, aptly labeled "World's Best Furry," was filled with a dark blend of a variety of coffee beans that Chara put together for maximum insomnia. There was only a small shot of extra sweet creamer to take away some of the bitterness, but Asriel didn't notice it. After being awake for so many hours, everything started tasting the same. Coffee and water both stung his throat in the same way, and he was no longer able to differentiate the texture between cheese puffs and beef jerky. Even the stir fry that he'd come to know and love over the years was just a pile of veggies and disappointment that he swallowed to keep himself running.

Slowly, Asriel turned to Chara, who was staring blankly at their phone with wide eyes that sported heavy bags beneath them. They weren't blinking, and occasionally, their skin twitched beneath the striped sweater they wore. It was one of Asriel's sweaters that they'd borrowed since they were too tired to go do laundry, and it was a size too big for their thin frame. Asriel reached over to tap them on the shoulder, but he received no response from his beloved sibling; thankfully so, as he could no longer remember what he wanted to ask them.

While Azzy and Chara sat next to each other at their kitchen table, Frisk had been doing the pile of dishes that never seemed to end, no matter how much they washed. Plates, spoons, and bowls were stacked neatly to the side of the sink, and just as they thought they were done, another plate appeared in the sink. Then another. And another. There was no end to the plates. Nothing would stop them from popping up in the sink the moment that one was done being washed. As it turns out, they'd been washing the same plate for an undetermined period of time, and the hot water was starting to run out.

"Have you ever been so tired that you think you could fight God?" Asriel asked in a completely serious yet flat tone that was void of any positive emotion.

With the same deadpan inflection, Frisk replied that they already fought a God, and that they could probably kick his ass in such a state of sleep deprivation. They even went on to explain that they felt as if they'd gone above and beyond exhaustion and fatigue, and have ascended past this mortal realm.

"I think I _am_ God now," Chara tuned in while still staring at their now black phone screen.

Frisk turned off the sink, having given up on the endless plates, and noted that they felt the same way Chara did. Their blue sleeves were almost entirely soaked in water, so they instructed Asriel to use his fire magic to dry them off.

"As much as I wanna help you-" he took a quick sip of his lukewarm beverage "-I'd rather not screw up and set you on fire."

They told him that no fire could harm them in their state. They were an eternal, immortal being of unlimited power and also constant yawning.

"Just take your shirt off. If you don't have another one, borrow a sweater from my closet."

Frustrated, they removed their garment and hung it over the back of Asriel's chair to dry. They then went to get a green and yellow sweater and returned much quicker than was humanly possible. It was a bit too big for them, and it even went down to the center of their thighs, but a little rolling of the sleeves and tucking it into their jeans made it functional.

"So, what's our plan of attack? We could call Alphys and have her track this dude down and I could shove some stars down his throat."

"I am waiting to get a message from him," Chara said while still keeping their red eyes open for an unnaturally long period of time, "I just need that. I just need... a message. Then we shall track his IP address... and I am going to find him... and slowly stick a toothpick in his eye. I shall not kill him, but I _will_ make him suffer."

"Sounds good for now. Waddabout you, Frisk? Got any ideas on what to do instead of taping our eyes open?"

Instead of actually listening to their brother, Frisk seemed more intent on staring at the lone, clean plate in the sink. Why was it there if it was clean? Was that one of the plate's they'd been washing? A magical plate, perhaps? Or, a demonic plate that plagued Frisk with its persistence to stay in the sink?

"Frisk...?"

With a blank look in their nearly shut eyes, they went over to the sink, picked up the light blue plate, and dropped in on the floor. It shattered into six crooked pieces that resembled poorly sliced pizza with a loud crash that was only made louder by the home's silence. When they looked back in the sink, the infinite plates were no more, and a slight smile appeared on their face.

Normally, such actions would cause the other two to freak out and/or question their sibling, but they somehow understood. To them, everything Frisk did made sense, and they returned to sitting quietly at the table while Frisk threw away the plate shards. Asriel had finally made some headway on his coffee, and had less than a cup left despite him not remembering if he drank that much. Chara was still staring at their phone, but at least they started blinking every other minute. Frisk had devolved into glaring at the bin that was full of fast food bags and plate bits, but only because they wanted to make sure what they threw away would stay there.

"You guys look beat."

From the side of the table that Chara and Asriel weren't occupying, Sans seemed to have popped up out of nowhere. He was dressed as he normally was, with his blue hood, pink slippers, etc. However, it looked as if he was wearing a small pin on his jacket. Nobody could really tell what it was with their blurry, sleepy eyes, but it was white with a little Starman symbol on it, and was pinned to the left side of his hoodie.

"I could murder God," Chara stated in an almost angry sounding voice.

"That's great to hear. But seriously, what's up?"

"The sky," Asriel responded while scratching one of his ears.

"Oh man. That's original. Never heard that one before. Good job."

Frisk turned their head away from the bin to ask Sans what he wanted.

"Oh, you know. Just the usual." He took a seat at the table, and used his blue magic to push his seat in. "Chilling, being a lazy pile of calcium, figuring out how where Mitrick is. Average stuff."

"Dude, I don't even wanna know if you're serious or not, and I'm honestly too tired to care. But if you are, you should tell us so we can find the guy and kill him."

Sans gave a quick shrug with closed eyes. "Honestly? I'm not even sure. I was sleeping one afternoon, and I had all this energy for, like, no reason. It was totally out of character for me, I know, but while I was lying in bed with literally nothing to do, it felt like someone told me some important stuff... someone **powerful**."

"God has spoken to the bag of bones," Chara said with a creepy smile.

"Eh. I 'unno if it was God. I dunno if there even _is_ one of those. They sounded more like someone who just realized they hadn't updated something in a real long time. Ya know, all panicky and junk."

"Can you just tell us where Mitrick is already? I wanna get to bed."

Chara and Frisk nodded lazily and grunted softly in agreement.

"I mean. I _would_ tell you, but I know from experience that fighting without getting any sleep is a bad idea. So, how 'bout y'all get some rest, and when you wake up, I'll make ya some sans-wiches. Sound good?"

Asriel placed his mug on the table. "That's... gonna be a problem. Mitrick is the reason we can't sleep, so we kinda have to kill him like this. Or, at least get him to stop."

Sans shook his head. "Nah. I can use my magic to protect your noggins while you're noddin' off. No nightmares or nothin'. It's going **tibia** peaceful sleep. It's, uh... just a shame that the magic can't be used on yourself."

Everyone gave each other the same look, and then turned to Sans with raised brows. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing, but Frisk was the only one who could put it into words.

They asked him why he decided to help them after everything. He never seemed to interested in helping them before, so why start now?

"Do you guys wanna sleep or what?"

"Answer first," Chara demanded.

With the scratch of his chin, Sans laid out his thoughts with his teeth still shut tightly as always. "Mrs. T told me to look after you guys. Not just back in Snowdin, but like... recently. She's been worried about ya, but she's too busy with school to do anything herself." He smiled a bit wider than usual before going on. "Heh. You'd think she could find a guy better than me, but she kinda knows I'm not all puns and naps. And... she may or may not have threatened me. Who knows. I can't remember."

That seemed to be all the convincing the Dreemurrs needed, because they all collectively decided to get up and lie in a pile next to Sans on the floor. He wanted to tell them that they could go to bed like normal and the magic would still work, but it was too late; he could already hear snoring from the heap of teens. It was kind of cute, actually. They were all cuddling and nestling into each other, almost like a trio of sleepy cats.

Cats that could kill Gods.

"Welp. Guess I better start makin' them sans-wiches."


End file.
